PRICES-UNIONCAMERE: FALL FOOD PRICES, SUPERMARKETS INCREASE

The prices of food are decreasing and supermarkets and hypermarkets are improving their sales. The biggest decreases have been recorded for oil, pasta and milk. ”Unioncamere” spread these data in the bulletin of the situation about large consumption products packaged in the organized Retail facilities. In the last times the Italians have been taking advantage of these price-decreases on packaged oil, pasta, milk, yoghurt and ice-cream, thus supporting the sales in the supermarkets and in the hypermarkets. The 2009’s positive trend of sales in the great distribution is going farther, thanks to the relevant price decrease in the field of food. Over all this trend has caused an evident slow increase in the field of the organized retail market marking + 2,1( the lowest value since the beginning of the year). Unioncamere has provided more detailed data: in July and in August the cost of the spending lowered down, following a trend begun in the previous months, reaching a -0,4% annual decrease. At the same time the sold quantities have increased + 2,5% in these two months. This sale-increase is due over all to the new commercial exercises( +3%), compared to a -0,7% decrease of the already- existing commercial web. As regards the cost of the spending in the different sectors, as already said the fourth bimonthly has seen a negative trend in the field of the whole packaged products of great consumption, the half point decrease is mostly bound to the sector of food( -0,8% compared to the same months, last year) thanks to the normalization of the prices, unlike the great increases shown in 2008. The most decreases have been recorded from the so-called cold products, being in a low (- 3.2%) trend. As for the fresh food sector the price decrease has been fixed about 2.5%. The least sold are the ice-creams, frozen dishes ready in ten minutes, multipack ice-creams. Among fresh products the most relevant decreases have been recorded for functional yoghurt, fresh milk but there are also other evident decreases for UHT milk, pasta, extra-virgin olive oil. The most recent indications put in evidence that the trend is involving even other products, as food drugs. Their prices decrease 0.6% per year. Even drinks are going to low down prices: for example natural water, Italian gti wine and fruit-juice.