The prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis He met on Thursday at the Maximus Palace with members of the Board of Directors of the National Union of Agricultural Cooperatives.

During the meeting, the importance of the bill to set up was emphasized ‘Red’ loans cooperatives and farmerin order to re -mobilize productive elements that are currently committed or inactive due to old debts, with the aim of further strengthening the primary sector.

The draft law, which will be introduced in the plenary of the House next week and formed in cooperation with the BoG, provides for the possibility of deleting part of the debt, extending the repayment timetable and reduction of the interest rate. It also contains provisions for the management of agricultural loans by specialized managers who are aware of the particularities of the industry.

“As we have committed and discussed extensively, we are submitting to Parliament the new framework for regulating the” red “loans of farmers and agricultural cooperatives. You know very well, because we had first discussed it together, how much relief it is about problems and pending problems that come from the past. It is an important arrangement for hundreds of cooperatives for over 20,000 farmers, “the prime minister said at the start of the meeting.

The members of the ETHEA noted that the bill was responding to their years of demands and emphasized the importance of restoring confidence in cooperative through such legislative interventions.

The prime minister underlined the government’s willingness to support farmers and farmers, recalling that the main demands set by the industry in recent years, such as the permanent return of EFK to agricultural oil and the reduction of energy costs, have already been satisfied.

“If we go back a bit, in the discussions we had at this table a year ago, I remember then the main demands of the primary sector were EFK and his return, this was regulated and we are more generous than what we appreciated then that we could do. And the issue of the cost of the current, where, with the program we have presented, there is a price that is definitely competitive, “the prime minister said in his introductory position.

“It is a good price, which is practically lower than the cost, which gives at least our farmers a relative predictability over production costs,” he added.

For the Return of EFK The € 100 million threshold has even been abolished, and through the GAIA Program, producers secure electricity at the cost of kilowatt in the wholesale market, with a stable and predictable framework to plan their movements.

The possibilities for increasing the extroversion of the primary sector and prospects for penetration into foreign markets where there is high demand for quality agri -food products, both in Asia and America, have also been examined.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of National Economy and Finance Kostis Hatzidakisthe Minister of Rural Development and Food Costas Tsiarasthe Minister of State Makis Voridis and the Deputy Minister under the Prime Minister Thanasis Kontogeorgis.

On the part of the Bank of Greece the Deputy Commander participated Christina Papaconstantinou.

The President took part on behalf of ETHEA Paulthe vice -president Christos Giannakakisthe Secretary -General Thomas Koutsoupiasthe member of the BoD Christos Tsitsiring and the General Manager of the Union Moschos Korasidis.