Athens - Angry Greek farmers who have been blocking the northern border with Bulgaria demanding compensation for low prices were scheduled to decide later Wednesday on the future of their protest.

The farmers have closed off the main Promachonas border for the past two weeks and for the past two days have not allowed any trucks loaded with perishable goods to cross the border.

Trucks and vehicles headed for Bulgaria are re-routing to the Exohi border crossing at Drama, 30 kilometres away.

Greek farmers have been protesting over low prices for their products and are demanding financial help from the conservative government.

They have used tractors to block major highways across the country, and have prevented imports and exports across many northern borders, particularly with Bulgaria.

Nearly 2,000 protesting farmers from Crete called off their two- day stand-off with riot police at the main port of Piraeus Tuesday and boarded ships to return home after authorities refused to let them make their way to the capital with their tractors.

The farmers had arrived at Piraeus Monday with scores of tractors and farm vehicles to highlight low commodity prices and demand fresh subsidies - echoing similar protests by farmers on mainland Greece.

Many of the roadblocks were lifted after farmers accepted a 500- million-euro (644-million-dollar) emergency aid package from the government - which is currently being discussed in Brussels.

Greece must seek the approval from the European Union before distributing the money.

Greek businesses said the strike, which follows youth riots in late 2008, has cost millions of euros in lost revenue.

The farmers are demanding tax rebates and subsidies from the government in the wake of falling prices for their goods and sinking EU subsidies.

They estimate that their income levels have declined by 25 per cent in the past 10 years and most of Greece's farming sector is composed of small-scale farmers who rely on government handouts to survive.

The government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has said the current financial crisis leaves it no room to offer further help. (dpa)