War and price increases: between offers and gasoline skyrocketing we are looking for a way out

The shortage of basic raw materials for the food industry and the energy price increase it is bringing disastrous results to the entire agri-food chain. An increase in prices that is added to that already occurred in the second half of 2021 as a result of the pandemic and increases in the costs of container transport. Consumers fear that you skip the supply chain and supermarket shelves are left empty.

The lack of cereals and sunflower oil

It is not an unmotivated fear. The stop of imports from Ukraine of cereal and sunflower oil supplies it risks having a ripple effect on the entire supply chain. Risks that increase with expensive gasoline. By the end of the month, Assitol (Italian Association of the Oil Industry) warns, stocks of oil extracted from sunflower seeds could reach zero. The question is not irrelevant, given that many products are processed with sunflower oil: preserves, biscuits, sauces, condiments, gravies, fries, in some cases even pasta. Then there are cereals – such as corn and wheat – which risk not reaching Italian territory anymore. For example, 20% of the European Union’s wheat imports, including Italy, come from Ukraine. According to the FAO index, the price of vegetable oils increased by 8.5% compared to the previous month, as did the 5.1% increase for corn and 2.1% for wheat.

Expensive gasoline and fuels

And then there is the expensive gasoline, with diesel and petrol abundantly above 2 euros per liter. The Codacons points out that the cost of gasoline scores on average a + 39.3% compared to the same period in 2021, while diesel fuel actually rises by + 51.3%. In more difficult to reach areas, such as the islands, the increases are even more significant than in the rest of Italy. Many are asking to lower VAT from 22 to 5%, such as the proposal to sterilize VAT on price increases and lower excise duties. The expensive gasoline affects all sectors: transport, fishing and agriculture in the first place. Due to the boom in energy and fuel costs, many farmers are lowering temperatures in greenhouses to produce vegetables. And then there are the fishing companies where up to over 70% of the costs they have to bear is represented, in fact, by fuel. With current revenues, most of the companies – explains Coldiretti Impresapesca – are unable to cover even the energy costs in addition to the other items that shipowners have to bear for normal activity.

The Italian in search of savings for basic necessities

In this dire scenario, Italians try to defend themselves through offers from distribution chains. Tiendeo.it, a platform of offers and online catalogs, analyzed the data relating to the behavior of Italians by comparing the last week of February with the first week of March. The study indicates a boom in searches for promotions and offers by consumers in basic necessities most affected by the sharp rise in prices: seed oil (+ 234.78%) and sunflower oil (+ 175%), flour (+ 105.5%), biscuits (+ 27.03%) , and pasta (+ 24.88%). Sunflower oil promotions on the catalogs of the main Italian retailers also increased (+ 40%).

The price of petrol and diesel has skyrocketed and it is now impossible to find a self-service dispenser with a cost of less than 2 euros per liter. The situation was already serious after the pandemic and the crisis of world logistics that gave a first blow to fuel prices, but the crisis in Ukraine has caused the problem to explode for good. Thanks to the other increases in electricity, gas and – consequently – on other consumer products, being able to save on full fuel becomes fundamental and in a moment like this even a few cents per liter can make the difference. Waiting for that Google Maps bring the cost of fuel per liter to the whole national territory, to our aid there are apps that allow you to read the prices of petrol and diesel to choose the most convenient petrol station around you.

The starting point is to consult the website of the Ministry of Economic Development, updated in real time with the selling prices of fuels actually charged at the distribution plants located in the national territory with the latest daily update communicated to Mise: if you have an iPhone you can also download the app, use the GPS and find out the lowest price in a range that you can decide yourself manually. The best alternative is the site Petrol prices which also has a handy geolocated app. On the Ecomotori.net portal you can have the map of the electric columns and methane and LPG distributors to choose the most convenient price.

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