No agreement after talks on the buying price of Strumica ajvar peppers
A three‑hour meeting convened by Minister of Agriculture Borche Serafimovski brought farmers, buyers and factories together — but no consensus was reached.
No solution has emerged after talks over the purchase price of Strumica ajvar peppers. Yesterday’s three‑hour meeting, convened by the Minister of Agriculture Borche Serafimovski, was the first time representatives of farmers, buyers and processing factories sat together as three interdependent links in the supply chain.
The participants discussed why previously agreed prices are not being honoured and presented a range of proposals aimed at bridging differences, but negotiators left without a formal accord.
In a statement, Mesno zdruzhenie na mladi Murtino said: "Something that was explicitly acknowledged and on which all parties agreed is that previously agreed prices are not being respected, and each of the parties explained their reasons for that. At the meeting several different proposed solutions were suggested by various sides, but unfortunately none received official agreement from the three parties."
Farmers insist on the August 11 agreement
Strumica growers say they understood the difficulties facing the processing industry and already made a substantial concession to reach a fair price that would benefit all three links. They maintain their position and demand only that the agreement from 11 August this year be respected.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski publicly expressed the government's backing for the farmers, calling their demands legitimate.
Growers from the Strumica area have staged repeated protests in recent weeks, urging the state to protect them from what they describe as price manipulation by buyers. For now, no new deadline or concrete enforcement mechanism was announced and talks are expected to continue.
Photo: press material from the event
