Spain police move in to clear protesting farmers

Spanish police on Tuesday shut down a group of farmers blocking highways in southwestern Spain, in the latest mass protest over what they say are plummeting incomes for agricultural workers.

The rallies, predominantly in the Extremadura region that borders Portugal, were called by several labour unions to demand government action to ensure more realistic retail prices for fruit and vegetables.

Ángel García, head of the regional young farmers association Asaja, said about 700 tractors were blocking the roads and urged all farm workers in Extremadura to strike.

The almost daily protests across Spain against high production costs and low prices for farm produce pose a tough challenge for the country's month-old Socialist-led coalition government as the European Union plans to cut agricultural subsidies.

The protests also come amid tariff threats by the US.