Italian authorities have refrained from capping pasta prices and have reassured consumers that the market will readjust after the cost of the staple has risen for two consecutive months at twice the rate of inflation.
Industry Minister Adolfo Urso had called an emergency meeting on Thursday after the unexpected rise sparked public bewilderment and concerns about market speculation hurting consumers.
The price of cans of pasta rose 17.5% in March and 16.5% in April compared to the same period last year, according to the Italian statistics agency Istat, twice the rate of national inflation which reached 8.8% last month.
Thursday’s meeting included government officials, producers, distributors and consumer groups, some of whom had called for price caps or other interventionist measures.
But the ministry held firm and said the market will soon correct itself, as energy prices are falling and the cost of raw materials such as durum wheat and semolina is also on a downward trend. the decline.
“The latest price surveys already show the first signs, albeit small, of falling prices, a sign that the cost of pasta could drop significantly in the coming months,” said a government statement released after Of the reunion.
Urso said the ministry is doing everything possible to avoid speculation. “We don’t want to stir up controversy, but we have to be transparent for the benefit of consumers,” he added.
The minister claims the sudden increase was due to producers and distributors selling pasta made at a time when raw material and energy costs were higher.
“Companies say the current prices are due to the disposal of inventory, made when the cost of raw materials was higher,” Urso said.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which came to power last year after campaigning as a far-right politician sensitive to popular concerns, has set up a special unit within the Ministry of Industry to oversee the cost of Italian goods and services. Benedetto Mineo, a civil servant whose nickname has become Mr. Prezzi (Italian for “prize”), was appointed head of this unit and he chaired the pasta meeting on Thursday.
Pasta is one of the favorite and most consumed foods of Italians. Each year, a citizen eats around 23 kilograms of pasta, according to the Codacons consumer association.
Consumer associations lodged a complaint after the meeting. The National Consumers Union called it a “flop”. According to local media, the president of Assoutenti, Furio Truzzi, threatened to boycott. He said he expected “a big drop in pasta prices soon, otherwise consumers will leave them on the shelves. We will not buy pasta for 15 days”.
Codacons has announced that it has lodged a complaint with the competition authority “to find possible illegalities in the evolution of retail pasta prices”.
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