An official complaint triggered the creation of a crisis commission due to rising pasta prices, which rose 17.5% in the interannual period to March. Consumers demand answers.
It may sound like a bad joke or an exaggeration, but reality shows that when it comes to pasta, Italians mean business: they subvert part of their identity. This Thursday, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government was forced to call a crisis meeting led by the country’s Economic Development Minister, Adolfo Urso, due to the 17.5% increase in popular food values in one-year margin of the year, until last March.
The figure is more than double the inflation of the rest of the products consumed in Italy, knowing that this figure reached 8.1%, according to the European Central Bank. But, in addition, wheat values have fallen significantly from last year, when Russia’s war in Ukraine dramatically increased its price.
The crisis has reached such a point that there is even talk of a “pasta strike” where consumers have not bought for 15 days. This is a dramatic situation for the sector, considering that studies suggest that 60% of the population consumes pasta on a daily basis, reports the Washington Post.
Consumer groups denounce an increase that is not consistent with production and distribution. According to the same media, almost all the provinces of the country have seen an increase in the average cost, exceeding 2.2 dollars per kilo. In some cases, the jump has reached more than 50%, as happened in Tuscany, where a year ago the kilo cost $1.50, whereas it is now at $2.37.
One could well argue that the change is not much, but according to Fabio Parasecoli, professor of food studies at New York University, the problem is more symbolic, he told the Washington Post. The government’s reaction, the expert believes, demonstrates the “symbolic, emotional and cultural value that pasta has for Italians”.
Moreover, by dealing with the crisis situation, the Meloni administration could try to show that it “is interested in the quality of life of citizens, even if the impact is likely to be much less than that of an increase electricity bills”. , he added to the American media.
After Thursday’s meeting, authorities assured that prices would come down soon, but their interlocutors were not so optimistic. “A significant reduction in the cost of pasta is expected shortly and monitoring will continue to protect consumers,” said guarantor Benedetto Mineo, who chaired the commission created by the transparency decree, Italian newspaper La Repubblica detailed. .
A report quoted by the authorities states that “the Chamber of Commerce system has indicated that the latest price surveys are already showing the first, albeit small, signs of falling prices, a sign that the cost of pasta may come down. significantly in the coming months”.
The higher values, however, are not necessarily due to corporate greed, said Michele Crippa, an Italian professor of gastronomic sciences. “The pasta that is on the shelves today was produced months ago, when durum wheat was bought at high prices and energy costs were at the height of the crisis,” he said. he explained to the Washington Post.
The answer is not enough for those who complain about the prices. For the consumer association, the possible gradual decline is not an asset of the government. “Tras el récord registrado en abril de 2022, cuando el trigo duro de países extracomunitarios costaba 642.50 euros por tonelada, los precios han ido cayendo mes a mes y en abril de 2023 alcanzaron los 421.42 euros, un -34.4 %, a third. The Italian is at 364.50 euros and has fallen 28.3% in one year. In short, excuses are insufficient. Prices must come down,” they told La Repubblica.
Assoutenti, a non-profit association for consumer protection, information activities, social solidarity and the protection of civil rights, went even further by assuring the Italian newspaper that “a sharp drop in pasta prices is to be expected in short, otherwise consumers will take care of leaving it on the shelves themselves. We will follow the law of supply and demand and we will not buy pasta for 15 days,” said the entity.
The problem, in addition to being cultural, is economic. At the end of last year, official figures revealed that the Italian economy had contracted. In the meantime, and according to the perspective of the International Monetary Fund, for this year, it should only grow by 0.7%, which positions the European country below the 1.3% announced for advanced economies.
Source: Latercera
I am Robert Harris and I specialize in news media. My experience has been focused on sports journalism, particularly within the Rugby sector. I have written for various news websites in the past and currently work as an author for Athletistic, covering all things related to Rugby news.
