In Italy, food prices have risen

Based on the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (Istat), the union's experts formed and published on Monday a rating of ten food products whose prices rose the most in the Apennines in November.

The first place in this list was taken by fresh fruits, which increased in price by 4.4% compared to October. In second place is olive oil, the price of which increased by 3%. The top three record holders are completed by baby food, which has risen in price by 2.9%. The top five food products whose prices rose by more than 2% over the month also included butter and puff pastry.

Earlier, the Italian government decided to introduce targeted quarterly measures to combat inflation, which were designed to curb the rise in retail prices, primarily in the food sector. “These data indicate the failure of the anti-inflationary quarter. There were virtually no discounts on fresh fruit due to extremely volatile and unstable prices. Noteworthy is the fact that baby food took third place in the ranking, having risen in price by 2.9% over the month, and compared to November 2022 - immediately by 12.8%, although products for children were specifically mentioned in the protocol,” Unc President Massimiliano Dona said in this regard.

“It is also shameful that pasta, which is a symbol of Italian cuisine, continues to rise in price, despite the already astronomical prices,” emphasized the head of the consumer union.

At the end of June, the research center of the General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria) published a report that showed that Italians are rapidly reducing spending on non-durable goods, especially food products. According to this study, Italian households' spending on food decreased by 3.7% last year, with a decrease of 8.7% in the fourth quarter compared to the first quarter of 2021.