The shopping cart today

Pasta, oil, butter, ice cream, and more, many foods are experiencing price increases, just like the rise in the cost of energy, fuel, and materials such as glass and cardboard.

Suffice it to say that in May, ISTAT’s national consumer price index recorded an increase of 0.9 per cent on a monthly basis and 6.9 per cent on an annual basis due precisely to the rise in the price of energy and food goods.

This is precisely why Italians’ eating habits are changing, according to Federconsumatori’s National Observatory. Less meat and less fish, but more convenient vegetables and greens at the table.

“Oil is suffering from a complex situation. The first negative impulse came from energy, even though mills are not energy-intensive. Production was then impacted by the increase in the cost of glass (+40%). Finally, the war caused large quantities of sunflower oil to disappear: the rebound in prices was caused by operators who, unable to find sunflower oil, began to source it on the olive oil market. In order not to stop, the industry resorted to olive oil wherever possible. Now sunflower oil can be found, but of course the embargoes on Ukrainian ports create unknowns that make it impossible to predict the future. For the coming year we do not expect stable production” – Cristina Santagata

An unstable situation that for now sees producers and large retailers playing the role of price shock absorber, but the real price increases will soon hit the shelves.