Italy announces 480 million euros in support for hauliers as blockades suspended and supplies resume
Key Facts
Disruptions to food and fuel distribution in southern Italy began to ease partially as truck blockades were suspended in Sicily and Calabria, ANSA reported on October 21, after the government announced an immediate commitment of 480 million euros to support the trucking sector. Italian broadcaster RAI said the suspension of hauliers' protests in Calabria allowed food deliveries to stores and supermarkets in the region to resume. Deliveries resumed after the supply disruptions spread to aviation, with ANSA reporting that Crotone and Reggio Calabria airports had run out of fuel. In response to pressure on production and transport sectors, Italy's cabinet approved a decree providing aid for trucking, agriculture and fishing, RAI reported. The government had announced its immediate financial commitment to hauliers on October 20, before the protest blockades were suspended in the two regions.
Trucking companies and drivers are protesting over fuel prices and living costs, according to Reuters coverage published by Internazionale, while delivery disruptions have affected staple foods. Retailers' association ANCD Conad said "milk and meat were stuck on trucks and in warehouses," as supplies failed to reach their destinations. The hauliers' protests come as diesel prices have risen by about a third from levels before the Iran war, according to the Associated Press. The agency also reported that a temporary diesel tax cut expired earlier in the month. On workers' purchasing power, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said real wages in Italy in early 2025 were 7.5% below their levels in early 2021.
In the food industry, the director of the Consortium for the Protection of Buffalo Mozzarella estimated losses from halted production at about 3 million euros in 24 hours, according to the Associated Press. The director described the scale of the disruption as "a shutdown worth 3 million euros in 24 hours," estimating the loss linked to interrupted production. Buffalo mozzarella production rules require milk to be turned into cheese within 60 hours, making compliance with the manufacturing deadline sensitive to transport disruptions. The production stoppage coincides with pressure on industry costs, with the consortium estimating that buffalo mozzarella production costs have risen by about 30%. The increases cited by the consortium covered feed, diesel and energy costs, as well as packaging and transport, according to the agency.
Energy also features in Italy's trade figures, with the trade surplus reaching 1,773 million euros in August 2026, according to Italy's statistics institute. Excluding energy, the trade surplus that month stood at 6,925 million euros, the institute said in a statement. Those trade figures relate to August, before the October transport protests and the accompanying disruption to goods and fuel distribution. In the broader euro zone economy, the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment fell to a positive 18.5 points in October. The reading declined by 7.3 points from the previous month, according to ZEW, leaving expectations in positive territory despite the monthly drop.
Talks between the government and the transport sector are heading for another negotiating round scheduled for October 27, according to ANSA. The round will be held at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport as discussions with the sector continue following the announcement of government support. On October 29, Italy's statistics institute will publish September employment and unemployment data, according to its release calendar. The institute's calendar also schedules the release of October consumer and business confidence figures that day, bringing Italy's labour market and confidence releases together on the same date. At the euro zone level, the second day of the European Central Bank Governing Council's monetary policy meeting takes place in Frankfurt on October 29, 2026, followed by a press conference, according to the bank's calendar.