Farmers' protests target Mercabarna wholesale market, Port of Tarragona and AP-7

Farmers' protests once again sweeped across Catalonia on Tuesday, blocking the AP-7 highway, the C-25, the Coll d'Ares border crossing, and entrances to Mercabarna wholesale market and the Port of Tarragona. 

The latest day of protests targeted key points on the logistics network with the aim of preventing the circulation of goods throughout Catalonia. 

More than 1,000 tractors, around 500 other vehicles and around 2,000 people took part in the demonstrations, according to the Farmers' Union.

Farmers at the Port of Tarragona and on the AP-7 near Girona plan to stay the night, while those at Mercabarna began to disperse early in the afternoon.

Mercabarna 

Around twenty tractors blocked two of the entrance points to Mercabarna on Tuesday morning. Situated in Barcelona, it is the biggest wholesale market in Europe in terms of volume of fresh food sales. 

The first farmers traveled from nearby Baix Llobregat and Anoia and were joined by more tractors from Penedès and Bages.

Before the farmers arrived, seven Mossos d'Esquadra police vans lined up to prevent vehicles from accessing the site. The head of the Farmers' Union in Baix Llobregat, German Domínguez, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that they intend to place tractors in such a way that "no truck enters." 

"We will try to close it off completely, but we have no intention of accessing the site." 

Only the northern access remained open, a secondary entrance.

AP-7 

Farmers based near Girona in the north first blocked the N-II in Alt Empordà county and, at around 9:15am, the AP-7 highway in both directions at Pontós. 

They parked tractors on the road and set up barricades, setting fire to tires and tree branches. 

Police were directing traffic heading north to come off the motorway at Figueres, while southbound vehicles must take the Vilademuls exit. 

The AP-7 is one of Catalonia's main logistics routes, running from the French border in the north to Valencia and beyond in the south. 

With the N-II also blocked, drivers trying to reach France or La Jonquera in the north of Catalonia faced delays and difficulties. 

Ares pass 

Another border crossing, the Ares pass on the C-38, was blocked by farmers on both sides of the border. 

The road connects Ripollès county in Catalonia with Vallespir county in Northern Catalonia, part of present-day France that was historically Catalan and still maintains its Catalan cultural identity.  

Farmers from both sides have jointly signed a manifesto with around a dozen demands. 

"We have very similar problems," said one farmer from Prats de Molló. "We are fed up with it," he added. 

Port of Tarragona 

Hundreds of tractors from various parts of the Tarragona region in southern Catalonia descended on the Port of Tarragona with the intention of blocking access throughout the day and remain overnight.

Following the call to protest from the Farmers' Union, around 200 farmers left Valls in the early hours of Tuesday morning, around 100 traveled from Terres de l'Elbre, 30 from El Morell and dozens more from Priorat and Baix Camp. 

Police estimate that around 500 tractors in total are involved in the protest at the port. 

The Port of Tarragona said that there are far fewer trucks than normal, as most logistics companies amended their operations when notified of the protests last week. 

Vic

Around 50 farmers from Central Catalonia gathered in Vic on Tuesday morning as part of the coordinated day of protests around Catalonia. 

They performed a go-slow drive to the intersection of the C-17, and the C-25, the latter also known as the Eix Transversal. 

They blocked both roads, forcing detours on the C-17 northbound between Voltregà and Vic, and on the C-25 at Gurb. 

Aragonès outlines concerns to Sánchez

Catalan president Pere Aragonès sent a letter to Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday relaying farmers' concerns over certain issues controlled from Madrid, the Catalan government's spokesperson explained on Tuesday. 

Aragonès demanded that everything possible be done to end bureaucracy, that the obligatory use of the so-called digital notebook be postponed until 2026, that the price of diesel for agricultural use be lowered, and that appropriate modifications are made to achieve a food chain law that guarantees fair prices and costs for farmers. 

The Catalan government also approved €273 million in aid and grants for farmers and agreed that the implementation of all new administrative procedures it has control over will be postponed. 

Rising prices and red tape

There have been several major protests by farmers in Catalonia and across Europe in recent weeks.

More than 2,000 tractors blocked highways in Barcelona last Wednesday, protesting against rising prices, imports from non-EU countries, food chain law violations and excessive bureaucracy. 

After arriving in Barcelona, representatives of the farmers' unions met with Catalan president Pere Aragonès to air their grievances. 

After the meeting, the Minister of Climate Action, David Mascort, asked them to meet again in ten or fifteen days for a "specific analysis" of the sector. He said that "together we can do things better" and stressed the need to find "ways to simplify processes".

On Thursday, farmers reached an agreement with most political parties in the Catalan parliament to review water restrictions, cut red tape and speed up the payment of subsidies.

The agreement, reached with the Socialists, Esquerra, Junts, CUP, Comuns and Ciudadanos, was sealed in a draft resolution that will be presented to the Parliament's board.

Farmers' representatives said they left the meeting with "positive feelings because they felt heard." However, they warned that the measures must be implemented "immediately", otherwise they will continue to protest until they are effective.