Farmers at Port of Tarragona end blockade ahead of talks with Catalan president

Catalan farmers have ended their blockade of the Port of Tarragona, fully reopening access to the port facilities after four nights of protest against the European Union's trade agreement with Mercosur.

Shortly after 10 am on Monday, the remaining demonstrators – around 25 tractors and 15 other vehicles – departed in convoys towards Conca de Barberà, Penedès and Baix Camp.

Access was first restored via the Francolí industrial estate, followed soon after by the reopening of the A-27 for heavy goods vehicles arriving from Valls and Lleida.

The protest at the port was part of a broader mobilisation by farmers across Catalonia, who have staged road blockades and slow-moving tractor marches to denounce what they see as unfair competition from South American imports under the EU–Mercosur agreement.

Ramon Rojo, a spokesperson for the group Revolta Pagesa in the Camp de Tarragona region, said the decision to lift the blockade followed commitments made by the Catalan government and ahead of a meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon between the president, Salvador Illa, and representatives of the farming sector.

"One priority is to shield farmers as much as possible, and the other is to protect our food security," Rojo said. He cited demands for clear labelling that explicitly states a product's origin, as well as financial support to offset the gap between local production costs and those in South America.

On food safety, Rojo said farmers want imported products to meet the same standards as domestic produce. "We want products from outside [the EU] to be subject to the same guarantees as ours, which is not the case at the moment," he said.

The final night of the protest was cold and damp, and demonstrators began dismantling their makeshift camps early on Monday morning.

AP-7 and other blockades

While access to the Port of Tarragona has now been fully restored, farmers said other road blockades remain under review. They confirmed that the AP-7 motorway at Pontós, between Girona and the French border, would remain blocked for a fifth day, at least until their meeting with President Salvador Illa later on Monday.

Meanwhile, about 20 farmers from central Catalonia are maintaining the blockade on the C-16 between Gironella and Berga, awaiting the outcome of the same meeting. The status of closures on the N-II in Alt Empordà and the C-38 at the Coll d’Ares mountain pass will be decided in local assemblies.

The Catalan Farmers' Guild (Gremi de la Pagesia) has urged Illa to give full backing to commitments made by agriculture minister Òscar Ordeig, warning that progress has been slow and that some agreements reached a year ago remain unresolved due to bureaucracy.