Athens - Thousands of farmers continued to block major highways and border crossings across Greece on Friday for the fifth straight day to protest falling commodity prices and to demand increased farm subsidies and pensions.

Tens of hundreds of tractors continued to block the Athens-Thessaloniki national highway at the Pembi intersection in central Greece as well as the Mikrothebes intersections in Larissa, Nikiea, Kastro, causing traffic chaos for thousands of motorists.

More than 9,000 farmers continued the roadblocks after talks with the government failed to reach a breakthrough despite promises of relief totalling 500 million euros.

Motorists stranded by the protest said the roadbloacks by empty tractors from the capital Athens to Greece's second largest city of Thessaloniki in the north cut the country in two.

Police could be seen trying to redirect motorists to smaller country roads throughout the country.

Blockades also continued at the two northern border crossings of Promachonas in Serres, northern Greece, and Exochi in Drama along the Greek-Bulgarian border.

The blockades caused several kilometres of traffic jams from the large number of trucks that had been prevented from leaving the country and there were many reports of protesting farmers clashing with truck drivers, shouting that their cargoes of meat and fruit lay rotting.

Tractors were also deployed along the highway which connects the cities of Hania and Irakleio on the southern Mediterranean island of Crete, with farmers extending blockades along the Athens-Lamia highway in the Peloponnese and Corinth over the weekend.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has instructed his ministers to intensify negotiations with the farmers protesting falling commodity prices and demanding higher subsidies and pension payments as well as lower fuel taxes.

Producers say they are particularly upset about the plummeting prices of cotton, corn and wheat, which are set by the European Union and claim that they are struggling to make a living.

The Association of Northern Greek Industries urged the government to resolve the strike as soon as possible, saying it was affecting the manufacturing sector already suffering by falling demand for exports and a dockers strike. (dpa)