German farmers sound alarm as rising fuel prices threaten harvest

Soaring fuel prices are confronting farmers with a cash flow crisis that could threaten the coming harvest and the security of the food supply, Joachim Rukwied, head of the German Farmers' Association (DBV), told dpa.

"If the government continues to rely on a hope-for-the-best principle and does not react decisively, this will drive many agricultural operations into massive liquidity bottlenecks," Rukwied said, reported dpa.

Rukwied urged the government to lift the carbon tax and temporarily cut energy taxes. "This is not the time for debate on political principles but for decisive political action," he said.

The German government has come under pressure to ease pressure on consumers resulting from soaring fuel prices caused by the war in Iran.

Last week, it introduced a measure limiting petrol station to raising prices just once per day. However, the measure appears to have backfired, with days of record diesel prices at the pump.

"The measures taken thus far not only miss their target, but further exacerbate the situation for consumers and companies," Rukwied said.

He said this had been predicted and added that Germany's neighbours were acting more decisively.

Rukwied called for the load on business to be lightened, as well as on consumers, noting that many companies have no way to further reduce fuel consumption.