Istat, boom food prices: +30% compared to 2019 (EU average +39%). And the US export data

However, they are less heavy increases than in the rest of Europe

In the European confrontation, however, the raising dynamics recorded in Italy “It appears significantly more contained both than the EU27 average (+39.2%) be, among other main countries, compared to Germany (+40.3%) and Spain (+38.2%); In the same period, the increase in France was relatively minor (+27.5%) “, underlines Istat. The strong dynamics of the prices of food goods, which represent 88.5% of the total goods included in the shopping cart (which includes food goods and goods for the care of the home and person), has conditioned the trend of this index, whose tendential variations went from 3.2% in July to 3.5% in August. The inflation differential between the shopping cart and the overall index has thus further expanded

As for exports to the USA, in addition to +60% of drugs (generic ones have no duties)

On the other hand, the exports of drinks (-2.7%, from +13.9%), of machinery (-9.7%from -8.4%) and means of transport (in particular -35.8%, vehicles, from +9.2%previous; -6.5%, from +15.9%, the other means of transport), while the growth of the export of food of food ( +1.1%, from +9.2%) have decreased. On the side of imports, the purchases of pharmaceutical products, decreased in the first quarter (-38.9% the variation in tendential terms), almost doubled between April and June (+91.2%). Other assets, on the other hand, an increase in basic metal imports was observed ( +19.7% and +59.2% the variation respectively in the first and second quarter of the year), computer ( +9.0% and +13.7%) and electronic products ( +16.1% and +14.9%).

Then Istat talks about the effectiveness of the social bonuses for energy spending:

It is explained that the energy subsidies given through the social bonuses and discounts in the bill, strengthened starting from 2021, have been effective in compensating the impact of the increase in energy prices for families in conditions of energy poverty in particular in 2022, peak year of energy prices. However, a significant percentage of families in conditions of energy poverty has not returned among those beneficiaries of the welfare measure or because it did not present an ISEE certificate or because they are deprived of the ISEE requirements necessary for access to the bonuses.

In 2024, more than half of families in conditions of energy poverty were not reached by subsidies and the highest percentage of families who receive the bonus are observed but remain in poverty conditions (52.6%).