Milan, March 2, 2023 - Data released by Istat regarding consumer prices in February show inflation slowing down compared to the previous month: the overall index marks +9.2 percent, while the shopping cart registers +13 percent. "Although we are beginning to detect the first signs of a slowdown in the general increase in inflation, due to the substantial drop in the cost of energy goods, there remains a widespread sentiment of uncertainty on the economic front, and it will still take some time to mitigate the effects of rising prices, which remains among the main concerns of Italian families," comments Carlo Alberto Buttarelli, Director of Federdistribuzione's Office of Studies and Relations with the Supply Chain. "Purchasing power has come under severe pressure in recent months, and today we continue to see a contraction in consumption in the food sector, with a drop in volume of between 4 and 5 percentage points compared to a year ago. This is a situation to which the utmost attention must be paid, with the aim of sustaining consumption and avoiding significant impacts on the many agrifood supply chains of quality and excellence of Made in Italy. Over the past year, Modern Distribution companies have made a significant economic effort, absorbing part of the generalized increases on consumer goods, to mitigate the impact on prices and protect the purchasing power of Italians. Today on the part of our companies there are no conditions to absorb new price increases, we hope that the clear signs of slowdown on energy and raw material costs in recent weeks will also lead the industrial system to act in this direction and put a brake on the push for increases that has characterized the market in recent months."
Source: Federdistribution