They have had enough after the cost of the staple of every Italian table soared by twice the rate of inflation. One consumer advocate group is calling for a weeklong national pasta strike starting June 22 after the Rome government held a crisis meeting last month and decided not to intervene on prices.
"The macaroni strike is to see if keeping pasta on the shelves will bring down the prices, in the great Anglo-Saxon tradition of boycotting goods," said Furio Truzzi, president of the group, Assoutenti. "The price of pasta is absolutely out of proportion with production costs."
Feeling the pressure, some governments in Europe have capped prices on staples or pushed for agreements with grocery stores to bring down costs, something that's popular with the public but can actually make food prices worse. Countries like Hungary, with the highest food inflation in the European Union, and Croatia have mandated price controls for items like cooking oil, some pork cuts, wheat flour and milk.
Spending much more to buy essentials like milk, pasta and fresh vegetables to "top up" donations received from supermarkets is a struggle for Anna Sjovorr-Packham, who runs several community food pantries serving discounted groceries to some 250 families in south London. In comparison, U.S. food prices rose 7.7% in April from a year earlier, 8.2% in Japan and 9.1% in Canada. They hit 19% in the U.K.
Such controls could actually make food inflation worse by increasing demand from shoppers but discouraging new supply, he said.While pasta remains one of the most affordable items in many grocery baskets, the symbolism hits the Italian psyche hard and comes as families are absorbing higher prices across the board, from sugar to rice, olive oil and potatoes.
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