The rise in inflation has made it more expensive for Italians to buy food and drinks. In 2022, they spent almost 13 billion euros more on food and drinks. This was caused by the snowball effect of rising energy prices and dependence on foreign countries. Prices are also going up because of the war in Ukraine, which hurts the whole supply chain, from farms to tables. This is the conclusion of Coldiretti's examination of ISTAT data pertaining to December inflation, which indicates a 9.1% average rise in food and beverage costs in 2022 compared to the previous year. Among the product categories that have had the greatest impact on the rise in spending by Italians, vegetables rank first, followed by "bread, pasta, and rice" and "meat and cold cuts." Fruit ranks fourth, ahead of fish, "milk, cheese, and eggs," and "oil, butter, and fats." The categories "mineral waters, soft drinks, and juices," "sugar, jams, honey, chocolate, and sweets," "coffee, tea, and cocoa," and salt, "condiments, and infant food" have modest extra expenditures.
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