The Asaja agricultural businesses association, the Farmers Union, the union of small farmers and livestock breeders and the association of agri-food cooperatives are set to announce coordinated protests in Mallorca.
Their demands are the same as those of the agricultural sector on the mainland and in various European countries, e.g. to do with excessive bureaucracy under the new Common Agricultural Policy and calls for tighter controls of food products being imported into the EU.
None of these groups were formally involved with the tractor protest on Tuesday, but they all now want to give greater strength to the demands. The Tuesday protest, which caused some disruption at the Mercapalma wholesale centre for a time, was in support of farmers on the mainland. A spokesperson, Pere Calafat, says that there are other demands - these are related to the high price of fuel and the distribution of aid.
There is the potential for these protests to broaden and to include hauliers. The platform for the defence of road transport, which comprises self-employed truckers and small firms, was behind the hauliers strike in March 2022 that caused concerns about shortages in Mallorca and the Balearics. It has indicated that it will back the farmers.
The federation for goods transport in the Balearics has said that it will not get involved in any action, stressing the importance of supplies ahead of the tourism season.