shelf” has been highlighted quite a few times: pro-
ducers receive much lower prices than those paid
by consumers. The government has not yet
devised some way for dealing with this problem.
Instead, it has worked out a set of measures that
will be implemented in the coming months, in
order to “revamp” the operation of Agricultural
Cooperatives, whose majority continues to exist
only on paper (the total number of cooperatives is
estimated at 5,000).
The situation in the agricultural sector is equally
explosive as in many other sectors: farmer
groups seem determined to pursue methods of
protest that may obstruct transport, even interna-
tional transport (by blocking roads close to the
border).
In the first months of almost every year, farmer
protests break out in many areas of the country.
In the past, the farmers’ demands were quite
often regarded as maximalist, since they included
guaranteed selling prices, extra compensations,
or even subsidies. Successive governments
stretched legitimacy to the limit, in order to defuse
the demonstrations.
However, given today’s conditions of fiscal crisis,
satisfying the farmers’ demands for financial sup-
port seems like something taken out of a science
fiction movie: the government, fraught by the
Memorandum and the need to service the public
debt, has no intention of spending money in order
to appease the agricultural world. The govern-
ment’s methods for dealing with the farmers’
problem will prove to be crucial.
In this context, the government made, for the first
time, officially clear that it plans to “clear up” the
Agricultural Cooperatives sector. The cabinet dis-
cussed a draft law presented by the Minister of
Rural Development & Food, Costas Skandalidis,
albeit without reaching any decision.
This draft law, whose main points were officially
presented by the Minister in late January, will
essentially lead to the abolition of almost 5,000
“shell” cooperatives, i.e. organizations that exist
only in paper and have no actual business activity.
A very important fact is that the government stat-
ed, for the first time, its intention to put an end to
the mismanagement, debt accumulation and inef-
ficiency of farmer cooperatives. However, the
announcements made in regard to the planned
interventions have certain gaps, since no provi-
sion has been made for measures aimed at solv-
ing the problem of the cooperative’s massive
debt, devalued assets etc.
Another crucial issue, related to the planned inter-
ventions, concerns the delicate balance that the
governing party would like to maintain in its rela-
Trade with Greece
131
The production cost of
agricultural goods is
affected by fuel price
increases, while the shortcom-
ings and failures of the distri-
bution and trading system
make farmers vulnerable to
the whims of both
wholesalers and retailers.
”
“
