(Finance) – Setback for industrial production which drops by 1.1% in May on the previous month and rose by 3.4% on an annual basis.
“The Italian industry is starting to feel the effects of the inflation effect, with the strong growth in retail prices that is being reflected in household expenses – explains, commenting on the Istat data released today, the president of Codacons Carlo Rienzi – Consumer goods recorded a 0.7% decline compared to the previous month, with non-durable goods dropping by 1.4% in just one month, while the annual comparison is still altered by the measures on Covid adopted in 2021. Numbers that could get worse, considering the record level reached by inflation in the last month and the persistence of the energy and fuel emergency “.
“All indicators highlight the need for urgent and effective intervention by the Government to save industry, families and businesses from a situation that is no longer sustainable, through measures capable of calming retail prices and leading to a reduction in electricity and gas tariffs ”- concludes Rienzi.
The National Consumers Union speaks of “negative figures, even if not yet alarming. On a monthly basis, the drop in energy does not worry so much, considering that in April families still consumed gas while in May it is only a question of accelerating storage, a problem addressed in the latest decree with the financing and intervention of the Energy Services Manager . On the other hand, the decline in consumer goods is more worrying, especially if the trend is confirmed in the coming months “says Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumers Union.
“According to our study, however, May production is 3.4% higher in seasonally adjusted data than in February 2020, the last month. pre-lockdown, and 1% in comparison with January 2020, the last pre-pandemic month. In the data corrected for the calendar effects, however, beyond the expected + 25.8% on May 2020, the month of full Covid emergency, production is slightly lower both compared to May 2019, -0.1%, and in compared to May 2018, -0.4 per cent “concludes Dona.
Federconsumatori reiterates that he has repeatedly expressed “concern about the peak reached by inflation, which has made a new, alarming leap forward reaching 8%. This is a dramatic percentage, which has not been seen in Italy since the mid-1980s and which determines an increase, for families, of +2,384 euros per year “.
Apparently – continues the note – our apprehension was anything but unfounded given that just today Istat highlighted the concrete and immediate risk that the inflation rate affects the most vulnerable sections of the population, significantly affecting the population. increase in inequalities.
The Institute of Statistics has in particular confirmed what we have been denouncing for months, underlined how the increase in prices is affecting to a greater extent basic necessities: first of all food products and energy goods for domestic use. Even on this consumption, families have begun to make cuts and sacrifices, expanding the ranks of the nuclei that find themselves in a situation of poverty, even in the energy field.
Istat itself notes that, in the period between 2005 and 2021, the number of individuals in poverty nearly tripled, reaching 5.6 million people. In this context, already dramatic in itself, the data on the poverty of minors (14.2%) and individuals aged between 18 and 34 (11.1%) are even more alarming.
The Federconsumatori National Observatory has found, in the latest surveys, how the increases have already led to considerable changes in consumption choices but we cannot think that families will be able to resist any longer in these conditions.
The increase in poverty and inequalities in the country make it evidentand how the emergency and temporary measures adopted up to now to counter the crisis and price increases are not yet sufficient. More incisive and structural measures are needed, which include not only support for families in difficulty, but also fairer taxation and a determined fight against tax evasion, as well as serious and determined counter action.