Farmers blockaded major routes to several German ports on Monday, protesting against the abolition of a tax advantage.
"Significant disruption" was seen in the Hamburg port area (Germany's largest port), resulting in partial obstruction of lorry traffic, local police warned on X (formerly Twitter). Hundreds of tractors disrupted traffic throughout Hamburg's city centre, where a farmers' demonstration was held outside the railway station, officials added.
Other German ports were also affected. In Lower Saxony, farmers blocked access to Jade-Weser-Port, a container port near the town of Wilhelmshaven, with approximately 40 tractors, according to police. At Bremerhaven port, a farmers' gathering on a crucial road axis led to "significant deceleration" of traffic.
These actions are part of a mass mobilisation of German farmers who have been protesting for weeks against the reform of agricultural diesel taxes scheduled for 2026. The reform aims to abolish an exemption from which they currently benefit.
The protests follow unsuccessful negotiations between unions and the government, and revolts have since spread to other European countries, notably Belgium.
These groups particularly target increasing European environmental obligations on the sector, heightened production costs since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the administrative burden on farms.
