Locals shared their views on recent price hikes while browsing through a street market in Palermo on Sunday, as inflation in Italy surged to the highest level in decades.
Speaking during an interview, one local stated she finds the prices of food weird: “It seems impossible to me that, for example, Sicilian cherry tomatoes used to cost 1.50 euros and now cost four euros per kilo.”
One man voiced his concerns about being able to manage such drastic price hikes, saying: “light, gas, and spending all rise by 13 to 14 per cent day by day. Is there anyone who accepts the minimum pension as it is? How do you keep going like this?”
Some citizens adapted to the rising cost of living by buying only what was ‘essential’, one woman admitted.
The annual inflation rate rose to 11.9 per cent in October 2022 which is the highest in the last 38 years. The increase in consumer prices is primarily due to rising energy costs as a result of the large mark-up that Italy pays for energy sources other than Russia.
