Protesting farmers block the road at the distribution center of supermarket chain Lidl in Weert on Saturday evening.
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Various Lidl supermarkets are supplied from the distribution center on Singelvenweg. It is not clear whether this supply is at risk. The spokesperson for the discount supermarket was not available for a response on Saturday evening.
Farmers collective
At the center in Weert, there have been fifty demonstrating farmers from the Weert region since 19:00. “And there are still a few on the way,” says one of the local farmers. He wants to remain anonymous. “We are here as a farmers’ collective, it’s not about the names of individual colleagues.”
This farmer from Kelpen-Oler does indicate that he and his colleagues do not intend to leave in the short term. “We’ll stand here as long as we need to.” The farmers demand a fair price from the supermarkets for their products.
Various distribution centers
Farmers will campaign at various distribution centers on Friday and Saturday. As a result of the blockade at these centers, the customer orders of some supermarkets, such as Albert Heijn (AH) and Jumbo, have not been delivered. The demonstrating farmers, including those in Weert, demand from the supermarkets that they donate 3 percent of their turnover to the Farmer Friendly cooperative.
Quality mark
Farmer Friendly is a quality mark and an initiative of Farmers Defense Force (FDF). Bearers of that quality mark give farmers a fairer reward for their products, according to FDF.
Stuck
As a result of the farmers’ protest, especially in the east of the Netherlands, the supply of AH supermarkets is being squeezed, a spokeswoman said.
Farmers in Raalte in Overijssel have been blocking the entrance to a Jumbo supply center with tractors since Friday evening. In Zwolle, farmers campaigned at an Albert Heijn distribution center, and in the Gelderland towns of Oosterhout and Geldermalsen, there were also campaigns.
Conversation
The AH spokeswoman reports on Saturday evening just after 7 p.m. that the farmers who were still at their distribution centers will lift the blockades. “We have indicated to the campaigning farmers at our distribution centers to enter into a conversation with them. Our commitment is to have this conversation take place before Christmas,” she reports. The company, it says, has no reason to assume that the campaigning farmers now involved are farmers with whom Albert Heijn works.
Understanding
A spokeswoman for Jumbo said on Saturday evening that she “understand the concerns of Dutch farmers”, but also “do everything” to keep the shelves well stocked and for now we see no problems. Our customers can still do for all their groceries come to us. We try to deliver online orders later as much as possible, but unfortunately we had to cancel a number of orders. “
Need longer time
The Central Food Agency (CBL) says it has indicated that it will need longer to look at the Farmer Friendly proposal. Director Marc Jansen said earlier that he would not be pressured with an ultimatum and associated threats.
Extra hustle and bustle
On Saturday, the CBL repeated that message to the farmers. The CBL calls this type of blockade of distribution centers “unacceptable in this period of Christmas and the corona pandemic”. “Especially in the busy month of December, the capacity to make up for lost journeys is very limited. Empty store shelves and possibly undelivered groceries simply mean that customers have to come to the store at a different time, which in turn creates extra crowds and longer queues. blockades therefore pose a health and safety risk. Many people are duped by the farmers’ actions. The CBL is in close contact with the government and authorities to ensure that the food supply for the Netherlands is not further disrupted. “
