From wheat to bread, the price increases by more than 17 times taking into account that to make a kilo of bread it takes about a kilo of wheat, from which 800 grams of flour are obtained to be kneaded with water to obtain a kilo of finished product, with a range that has never been so wide. This is revealed by a Coldiretti analysis on average inflation in the first eight months of the year by Istat, released at the Peasant Village of Rome on the occasion of World Food Day which is celebrated on October 16.
A kilo of wheat is paid today to farmers - reports the agricultural organization on the basis of its analysis of Ismea and Istat data on average inflation in the first eight months of 2023 compared with the same period of 2022 -- about 24 cents, 32% less than last year, while the same amount of bread is sold to consumers at prices ranging from 3 to 5 euros depending on the city, with an increase of up to +20%.
The incidence of the cost of wheat on the price of bread therefore becomes - comments Coldiretti - increasingly marginal, so much so that it has fallen well below 10% on average, as evidenced by the extreme variability of retail prices along the peninsula, while those of wheat are directly influenced by international quotations. In Milan a one-kilo loaf costs 4.33 euros - adds Coldiretti on the basis of Coldiretti's own calculations on data from the Price Observatory of the Ministry of Economic Development in August - in Rome you travel on 3.25 euros, in Bologna we are at 5.14 euros, while in Palermo it costs on average 4.14 euros per kilo, in Naples 2.26 euros.
The reality is that, despite the 10% drop in harvests due to climate change has limited the availability of product in Italy, wheat "is now underpaid to farmers due to the maneuvers of those who make speculative purchases on foreign markets of wheat to be 'passed off' as bread Made in Italy", reads the note. For this reason, Coldiretti asks to introduce also for loaves and sandwiches the obligation to indicate, on the label if packaged or on the book of ingredients if not packaged, the origin of the wheat used, just as it happens for pasta. Finally, Coldiretti reports that consumption has collapsed to an all-time low, to just 80 grams per person per day, with a drop of 33% in just over a decade.
All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA