Minister Tihomir Jakovina called on representatives of milk farmers who have been protesting for nine days to unblock roads, to which they agreed, the statement said.

The leader of the Federation of Milk Farmers' Associations (HSUPM), Igor Resetar, confirmed to Hina on Wednesday night that the meeting ended without an agreement and that it would resume on Thursday.

The tractors that are blocking roads will return to their positions as on Wednesday morning, he added.

The meeting of the Council for the Dairy Industry started at 11 am on Wednesday, but soon after its beginning, HSUPM representatives walked out, dissatisfied that the item on the purchase price of milk was the last on the agenda. Later in the afternoon they rejoined the talks.

Milk farmers have been protesting for nine days now outside the Dukat dairy company in Zagreb and its daughter company Sirela in Bjelovar, and over the last few days the protests have spread to a number of other locations across the country.

Slavonska avenue, one of Zagreb's arterial roads, was closed to traffic on Wednesday afternoon because it was blocked with tractors by farmers protesting outside Dukat, which is located in the nearby Caviceva Street. The police unblocked the avenue early on Thursday morning.