(Finance) – The Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy and the associations of modern distribution and traditional commerce have undertaken to find an agreement by September 10 to start – starting from October 1 and until December 31 – The anti-inflation quarter on the so-called shopping cart, on products of wider and more general consumption, including baby products. To follow up on the government’s initiative against high spending, il Mimit and the distribution and trade associations have signed up a joint statement this morning.
In detail the joint statement with the ministry headed by Adolfo Urso has been subscribed by Federdistribuzione, Ancc-Coop, Ancd Conad, Confcommercio, the Italian federation of food sector operators, Federfarma, AssoFarm, the federation of pharmacists and disabilities, the national movement for free pharmacists, the Italian parapharmacies, the national federation of Italian parapharmacies and the national union of pharmacists with sole parapharmacy. The initiative, explains the declaration, has the objective of accelerating the process of inflation reduction underway in recent months, which also continues in July. “This slowdown is also achieved thanks to the commendable effort of the associations and distribution companies who have underlined how the statistical data indicate that over the last eighteen months they have absorbed a part of the increase in the purchase costs of products intended for consumption , playing a fundamental role – through an effective campaign of commercial initiatives for the benefit of consumers and citizens – in containing the prices of consumer goods and in protecting the purchasing power of families”. The associations of modern distribution and traditional commerce, recalls the statement, have also contributed to the activities implemented by the Ministry of Enterprise for the monitoring and surveillance of prices, through transparency actions in the most important sectors for household purchases, including including the food sector, fruit and vegetables and baby products.
The slowdown in inflation – explains the statement – ”is also achieved thanks to the commendable effort of the associations and distribution companies who have underlined how the statistical data indicate that over the last eighteen months they have absorbed a part of the increase in the purchase costs of the products intended for consumption, playing a fundamental role – through an effective campaign of commercial initiatives for the benefit of consumers and citizens – in containing the prices of consumer goods and in protecting the purchasing power of families”. The associations of modern distribution and traditional commerce, recalls the statement, have also contributed to the activities implemented by the Ministry of Enterprise for the monitoring and surveillance of prices, through transparency actions in the most important sectors for household purchases, including including the food sector, fruit and vegetables and baby products. The shared objective between the Ministry of Enterprise and the signatory associations of the joint declaration “is to offer tiered prices on a selection of items included in the so-called shopping cart and basic necessities, in compliance with the freedom of enterprise and individual market strategies”. This result – we read – “could be pursued through flexible methods, as long as they can be subsumed under the inflation of the Mimit (for example through the application of fixed prices, promotional activities on the references identified, or through initiatives on the range of branded products, the so-called private label, trolleys at a discounted or single price)”.
“With the signing of the letter of intent on the ‘Anti-inflation Quarter’ initiative, the companies of the Modern Distribution are renewing their willingness to collaborate with the Government to counter the effects of inflation on the purchasing power of Italians. In the days past, – explains the president of Federdistribuzione Carlo Alberto Buttarelli – we had shared the contents of an anti-inflation protocol with the government and were ready to sign it, but we had to acknowledge the no from the processing industry. Nonetheless, with a great sense of responsibility, we have decided to continue the path already begun to find concrete solutions to fight inflation together with the institutions, with the aim of protecting families and maintaining consumption”.
“The supply chain federations belonging to our association system have expressed interest in collaborating in the anti-inflation pact, proposed by the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, to keep the prices of consumer products low. For this reason, Confcommercio has responsibly joined Once again we are doing our part, even by reducing operating margins, to protect the purchasing power of families. We hope that this commitment will also be shared by the industry” he said Donatella Prampolini, vice president of Confcommercio.
But on the initiative consumer associations are critical. “A drama! A marketing and facade operation carried out by Minister Urso just to be able to tell Italians, through commercials on all media channels, that he has taken action against inflation but that it lacks any concrete commitment and real effects for the pockets of the Italians” he comments Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumer Union. “It is – continues Dona – a letter to Santa Claus in which everyone generally undertakes to become better, but without saying how, in what way. A mockery and an insult for those families who can’t make it at the end of the month. It is incredible that the minister continues undaunted despite the no received, instead of revising his proposals, with more structural interventions, for example by lowering the electricity and gas bills of households and businesses. without even one vote or opinion from the National Council of Consumers and Users (CNCU), the only representative body of nationally recognized consumer and user associations charged by law with expressing opinions and formulating proposals on consumer protection and signing Memoranda of Understanding”.
In that scenario Assoutenti points the finger at producers and industries that oppose the anti-inflation basket launched by the government. “We are evaluating a complaint to the Antitrust for the possible case of cartel to the detriment of consumers” says Assoutenti, who is studying the legal actions to be taken against those who hinder the saving basket and the measures to protect the pockets of Italian families. “The Italian food industry is in first place in terms of turnover in the manufacturing sectors of Italy, reaching 179 billion euros a year, with exports exceeding 50 billion euros – explains the president Furio Truzzi –. The food sector recorded a growth of 12% in 2022, which will continue in the two-year period 2023-2024 with rates higher than the GDP. Data which demonstrates that there is scope for a reduction in prices in the food sector by giving up part of the profits, and that the obstructionism of industry and producers towards initiatives aimed at bringing down retail price lists is entirely specious. The high cost of living – underlines Truzzi – is a national emergency comparable to Covid and climate change, and as such the Government must put in place every possible effort by attributing more powers to Mister Prices and blocking the speculations that are recorded in strategic and uncompetitive sectors such as fuel, energy, insurance companies and banks which in the last two years have recorded extra profits never achieved before, obtained above all on the skin of consumers. n this emergency situation in which consumption is falling inexorably, large companies must do their part. This is why we appreciate large-scale retailers who have decided to carry out a further policy of reducing price lists in the next quarter, even if it is not enough: if a national pact against the high cost of living is not reached, the only alternative is to act with the commissioner powers by decreeing for reads a basket at controlled prices aimed at combating the current emergency”.