The lorry drivers’ protest has also reached Lazio

The lorry drivers’ protest has reached Lazio. Today, in both directions on the A1 motorway, lorry drivers travelling from the south in protest against high fuel prices stopped to stage a sit-in at the San Vittore junction, in the province of Frosinone. The day before, the protest reached the Anagni toll booth, also in the Frosinone area. At the same time, picket lines were set up in Ferentino, Frosinone, Valmontone and Formia. “Supermarkets in those areas are experiencing supply problems with products from the south. And panicked consumers are buying more than expected,” Valter Giammaria, president of Confesercenti Lazio and the Rome Agri-Food Centre – a hub housing Italy’s largest wholesale fruit, vegetable and fish market – tells Il Foglio. “For now, we are managing to make up for the shortage of produce from the south with imports, for example from Spain,” explains Giammaria. At this time of year, at the CAR, 70 per cent of the produce comes from abroad, and 30 per cent from Italy. “There is cause for concern, however. It all depends on when the protest ends.”

Today, Transport Minister Matteo Salvini announced the release of one billion euros for road haulage companies. “Real money, paid out quickly to 2,000 companies a day,” he assured, adding that he was open to discussing a cap on diesel prices. Meanwhile, the Tuscan food distribution sector has also sounded the alarm: “If the situation is not resolved quickly, the difficulties could worsen in the coming days,” say representatives from Fiesa Confesercenti Toscana.