Italy agrees on an 'anti-inflationary pact' to counter the

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Italy's right-wing government has agreed to an "anti-inflationary pact" with producers and retailers to keep prices of pasta and other consumer staples low, as Rome tries to ease pressure on households reeling from higher living costs. The government said on Friday it would launch an “anti-inflationary quarter” for the three months from the beginning of October to the end of the year. While the precise details remain murky, the pact commits its signatories to trying to resist rising prices, which have skyrocketed in recent years following the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The pact follows months of negotiations between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government and Italy's business establishment over what to do about the rising cost of staples such as pasta. Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprise who met with business organizations, wrote on social media platform buy Italian.


Participating companies will have the right to use stickers and other promotional material with the logo of a shopping cart in the green and red colors of the Italian flag. Speaking separately to reporters after meeting with Jordan Mobile Number List representatives of major consumer goods producers, Urso said the new pact, which will cover selected food products and other household essentials, "would deal a definitive blow to the inflation” and would increase public consumption, providing an overall economic boost. to the country. Eurozone inflation hit double digits during the fall of last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine drove up the cost of food and energy. At 5.3 percent in the year to August, inflation remains substantially above the European Central Bank's target of 2 percent. Italy's inflation rate was 5.5 percent in the year to August, according to official estimates. This figure is much lower than the 11.9 percent reached in October 2022, but is still uncomfortably high.







The worst wave of inflation in a generation has sparked accusations of greed, with some saying companies are taking advantage of higher costs to bolster their profit margins. However, retailers, especially in the food sector, say their margins are small and have narrowed further due to higher prices from their suppliers and higher labor costs. The Federation of Italian Food Industries, which backed the pact, said local food industry margins have already fallen from an average of 10.3 percent in 2019 to 5.7 percent last year due to higher manufacturing costs. raw materials. "The sense of responsibility and protection of Italians and families in difficulty has prevailed," the organization said in a statement. Consumer organizations expressed skepticism that Italy's three-month campaign against inflation would produce substantial benefits. "The government is giving a big gift to retailers who will boast of being the saviors of the country," said Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union.