Hungarian dairy farmers marched with more than 50 cows near parliament yesterday asking the government to lower taxes on all dairy products, while claiming that support from Hungary and the European Union is insufficient and ineffective.
The farmers handed over a petition to an official from Prime Minister Viktor Orban's office last week, demanding more talks with the government and complaining that authorities had broken earlier agreements.
Hungary is planning to cut sales tax (VAT) on fresh milk from 18 percent to 5 percent from 2017, but farmers want the lower tax rate to apply to other dairy products, too.
Dairy farmer Imre Hegedus said they were getting 60 to 65 forints ($0.21-$0.23) per liter of raw milk from processors, covering just over half of farmers' production costs.
One onlooker said that she had wondered if the cows would "form a new party" and that they would get her vote!