Over 1 000 dairy producers protested throughout Bulgaria on January 23, Adrian Tsakonski of the Control Council of the Association of National Dairy Producers said.

About 200 dairy producers protested in Petrich and Sandanski, 50 in Blagoevgrad and 150 in Stara Zagora, Focus news agency said.

About 200 protested in Veliko Turnovo and another 200 dairy producers protested in the Plovdiv area. Oer 200 protesters from Vratsa, Pleven and Vidin blocked the main E-79 road on the entrance to Vratsa. One-hundred protested in the Rousse and Turgovishte areas.

Tsakonski added that the dairy producers' protests had been short because of bad weather.

Dairy producers protested against what they say was a lack of financial government support.

Agriculture Minister Nihat Kabil has proposed increases of 25 million leva in financial support for the dairy farmers.

On January 13, unions sent out a statement in which they demanded that government would immediately and without changes accept the proposal of Kabil. The statement was followed by a second statement later that day from a smaller group of the farmers, in which they increased the demanded support to 250 million leva.

Next week we will head towards Sofia together with the cows, he said.