Codacons: Mimit's position on fuel prices is misleading

The position expressed by Mimit on the data on the trend of fuel prices in Europe is "completely misleading and provides an inaccurate picture of the situation". This was stated by Codacons, commenting on the ministry's note according to which "Italy confirms itself as the country with the most contained growth in fuel prices among the main European economies". The growth in petrol and diesel prices is more limited than that of other EU countries only due to the effect of the excise duty cut of 24.4 euro cents; in the absence of this discount, Italy would be at the top of the European diesel price list with an average price, in the week 13 April - 20 April, of 2.358 euros per litre, far surpassing the Netherlands (2.296 euros/litre), Finland (2.245 euros/litre) and France (2.244 euros/litre), which according to data from the European Commission are the countries with the most expensive diesel prices, he explains the Codacons. It is also incorrect to state that the measures implemented by the government have avoided impacts on the retail prices of transported products: in March, according to data provided by Istat, inflation rose by +0.5% compared to February, with record increases for fresh food which, as is known, travels by road: just to give a few examples, aubergines increased in price in March by 21.5%, peas by +19.6%, courgettes by 11.1%, lemons by 10.8%, strawberries by 10.4%, legumes by 9.9%, tomatoes by 9%; the prices of artichokes mark +8.8%, eggs +8.5%, beef +8.4%, cauliflower and broccoli +7.2%, citrus fruits +6.6%, peppers +6.4%, concludes Codacons.