Pelagonia livestock farmers warn of protest on September 30 over unpaid milk premiums

The “Pelagonia Field” and “Southwest Farmers” associations have announced that they will hold a protest on September 30 to express dissatisfaction over unpaid milk premiums and other outstanding obligations in the agricultural sector. The gathering will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Topolçan, near the “Osman” mill, along the Bitola–Prilep road.

According to the livestock farmers, payments for milk delivered have not been made since July 2025. They are also calling for funds for 2026 to be distributed on time.

Another concern they have raised is the decline in the milk purchase price. They say it has fallen from around 33 denars per liter last year to 23 denars.

Borçe Buçinski of the “Pelagonia Field” association said livestock farmers have yet to receive payments for ten months. He called for their representatives to take part in drafting the 2027 Program and for the subsidy per cow to be increased to 250 euros.

Representatives of “Southwest Farmers” said they have tried to address these problems by communicating with the Ministry of Agriculture. However, they say they have been unable to hold a meeting with the responsible institutions.

Published figures show that the state owes livestock farmers around 600 million denars in unpaid milk premiums for 2025 and around 500 million denars for the first months of 2026. In March of this year, 270 million denars were disbursed to 4,545 producers for the period from January to June 2025.

The Ministry of Agriculture, meanwhile, has said that around 90 percent of the financial support planned for agriculture in 2025 has been delivered, with payments totaling around 6.5 billion denars.

Despite this announcement, livestock farmers insist that substantial financial obligations to them remain unpaid.