With 85% of commercial transport taking place on the road in Italy, the stop of lorries and trucks puts Italians’ spending at risk, especially for the most perishable products such as milk, fruit and vegetables that cannot reach the market shelves. This is the alarm launched by Coldiretti in reference to the protest of the hauliers for the entry into force of the obligation of the green pass. the depreciation suffered by perishable products such as milk, meat, fruit and vegetables for which – underlines Coldiretti – deliveries were therefore guaranteed. Transport difficulties threaten the supplies of over 330,000 catering establishments and 230,000 retail outlets by the 70,000 food industries and 740,000 farms in the country.
A situation that aggravates the difficulties of the supply chain that starts from the countryside where the obligation of the green pass – reports Coldiretti – is triggered by about 400 thousand workers who are currently engaged in the countryside where the harvest is in full swing, the apple harvest and the olive harvest has just begun. It is estimated that around 25% of the number of Italian and foreign agricultural workers have not yet been vaccinated for a total of about 100 thousand. “In order not to let the production on the trees rot, it is important to intervene to facilitate access to work for those who are in good standing – affirms the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini – Agricultural activity is linked to the seasonal cycles of crops and cannot be stopped” .
To ensure adequate coverage of the workforce necessary to save crops, it is urgent, however, to introduce flexible tools, agreed with the unions, which allow recipients of social safety nets, Italian students and retirees to be able to temporarily collaborate in activities in the fields but – continues Prandini – there is the need to extend the residence permits to non-EU seasonal workers already present in Italy and to publish the 2021 flows decree. A need – concludes Coldiretti – to save the income of businesses but also to continue to guarantee food supplies to the population at a time when the pandemic has opened up a scenario of reduction in trade, hoarding, speculation and price increases that pushes the race of individual states to essential goods to guarantee the food of the population.