Italians forced to cut back on food – industry report

Soaring inflation is causing Italian households to curb spending on food, according to a report by the General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria).

The report showed household spending on groceries is in “sharp decline.” It dropped by 3.7% in 2022, and by 8.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 when compared with the first quarter of 2021.

“This has become a burden on overall consumption, given that spending on food accounts for 14% of all expenses, second only to spending on housing, water and energy (23%),” Confindustria wrote.

The head of the National Consumer Union (UNC), Massimiliano Dona, described the report as “alarming” and claimed that “Italians are on a forced diet due to skyrocketing inflation.”

He noted that the situation had a serious negative effect on economic growth, considering that “consumption represents 60% of GDP and that, if Italians don’t buy, then merchants don’t sell and businesses do not produce.” 

UNC experts earlier noted that the trend of cutting back on food in Italy had emerged during the pandemic. Analysts found that in January 2023, purchases decreased by 4.4% in physical terms compared to one year previously, and by 6.3% compared to the same month of 2021.

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