ZAGREB, March 23, 2020 – The Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK) on Monday called on the Ministry of the Interior and the Civil Protection Authority to allow agricultural producers to sell their produce at farmers’ markets.
In a letter to the two institutions, the HPK said that the latest decision to close down farmers’ markets was “an attack on domestic producers and family farms because they are being prevented from selling domestic produce, for which we know where it comes from and that there is no presence of the virus.”
On the other hand, “goods for which we do not know where they come from are being sold in retail chains,” it said.
The HPK stressed that certain gatherings that had occurred at farmers’ market were not due to the sale of agricultural products but due to small shops that are part of farmers’ markets.
“We ask that the sale of agricultural products from family farms be allowed at outdoor and semi-enclosed markets, just as it is in retail chains and pharmacies, on the condition the prescribed rules, such as social distance and sellers wearing protective masks and gloves, are complied with,” the HPK said.
Under a decision by the national civil protection authority, designed to help prevent the spreading of coronavirus, as of Monday, all farmers’ markets will be closed.
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