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Farmers block the streets of Brussels demanding fairer prices for produce

Using tractors farmers have blocked the streets as the value of products such as pork,milk and beef plummet, leaving many in substantial debt.

Megan Townsend
Monday 07 September 2015 13:13 BST
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Belgium: Farmers start fires as they descend on EC HQ in Brussels

"Europe is drowning in milk" one of the banners read as farmers from all over Europe took to the streets of Brussels to demand the EU intervenes in the decreasing price of their produce.

The protesters blocked many main streets with tractors, fired milk canons at police, threw eggs at government buildings and hung plaster-cast cows from cranes above the city. Due to fires being lit in hay in the in a square close by, police were forced to block entry into the European Union Council building.

Many farmers in Belgium and the rest of the EU are experiencing a fall in demand for produce particularly from the Russian embargo on western trade and a fall in demand from China. This has led many to call for an end to the taxes and bureaucracy they have to face, which according to their view, is undermining their competitiveness compared to other EU countries.

There have been a number of similar protests amongst dairy farmers around the UK as the prices for agricultural products continues to drop.

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