ROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) – A protest by Italian truck drivers over fuel prices and the cost of living is causing food shortages in shops, with deliveries disrupted and fresh produce rotting, retailers said on Wednesday.
The protests, which began in southern Italy last week, have also disrupted operations in two regional airports in Calabria because they cannot get deliveries of aviation fuel.
With traffic snarled in various parts of the country, long queues formed on the A1 motorway near the southern city of Naples after truckers restricted access.
Trucks and tractors drove into the central square in the northeastern city of Ravenna as the protests spread and farmers added their voices.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the government was prepared to consider a cap on diesel prices to help ease the pressure on hauliers.
Italy has set aside around €1 billion ($1.1 billion) this year to help truck drivers cope with surging fuel costs and replace older vehicles with less-polluting models.
The protests come as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government deals with unrest last weekend in northern cities including Milan where gangs of mainly young people went on the rampage.
The ANCD-Conad group, representing retailers operating under the Conad supermarket brand, said large quantities of perishable products including fruit and vegetables, as well as milk and meat were stranded on trucks and in warehouses.
“The freedom to protest cannot translate into undermining citizens’ right to receive fresh food or destroying the value created by Italy’s agri-food supply chains,” said the group’s president Maurizio Pelliconi.
($1 = 0.8905 euros)
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin in Milan, Giuseppe Fonte and Francesca Piscioneri in RomeWriting by Keith Weir, editing by Gavin Jones)
