Agriculture & Food

According to the Italian Livestock and Poultry Slaughtering Industry Association, Italians have begun to reduce or avoid buying high-quality meat and other high-priced foods, which has also led to an "abnormal collapse" in meat consumption in recent months. Data show that Italian pork consumption this summer fell by 15% compared with the same period last year, beef consumption fell by 8%, and white meat consumption such as chicken fell by 4%. Sales of grilled meats also fell significantly due to persistently hot weather.

Luigi Frasca, president of the association, said: "Summer is not the peak season for meat consumption, but we did not expect such a drop." He also said that rising costs of raw materials and services have also led to higher profits for the meat industry. It is getting lower and lower, and the government must introduce measures as soon as possible to avoid the crisis of layoffs or even bankruptcy in the industry.

The Italian government has launched a study on the above-mentioned situation and plans to cut the food value-added tax (IVA) in the upcoming new round of aid bills. In addition to reducing the economic pressure on ordinary households, this move will also benefit the entire food industry. The government plans to completely reduce the 4% IVA tax on basic foods such as bread, pasta, olive oil, flour, and potatoes; the IVA tax on meat, fish, eggs, chocolate and other foods will be reduced from 10% to 5%.

This move will save the average household between 15 and 30 euros per month on food consumption.