Gfk-Eurisko (provisional) data concerning the period between January and August 2014 reveals that Italian families are cutting back less on food shopping.
In terms of value, expenses seem to have decreased by 0.4% with respect to the same period in 2013 and volumes decreased by 0.7%.
People spend 0.6% less on food and 1.5% more on drinks, although the volumes of both drinks and food have gone down by 1.1% and 0.5% respectively.
Although it seems that expenditure is improving, we must keep in mind that the data is compared to 2013, the worst year for Italian families so far with -3.1% in terms of value and -1.3% in terms of volumes.
In the first eight months of 2014, meat, grain, sweets, oil, vegetable fats and fish contributed to the improvement, whereas fresh produce and dairy products counter-trended.
Fresh produce recorded in fact -3.3% in terms of value and -0.8% in terms of volume with respect to 2013. More in detail, people spent 4.3% less on vegetables and 2.7% less on fruit. As regards processed produce, the volume and value of vegetables decreased by 1.8% and 1.9% respectively, whereas fruit lost 1.1% in terms of volume but gained 1.3% in value.
| Product category | Var.% 13/12 (Vol.) | Var.% 13/12 (Val.) | Var.% Jan-Aug14 /Jan-Aug13 (Volume) | Var.% Jan-Aug14 /Jan-Aug13 (Value) | Weight % |
| Produce, of which: | -1.7 | -2.4 | -0.8 | -3.3 | 22.2 |
| Fresh produce | -2.0 | -2.2 | -0.6 | -3.6 | 18.9 |
| Fruit and citrus fruit | -2.5 | -2.4 | -0.6 | -2.7 | 8.3 |
| Vegetables, pulses and potatoes | -1.6 | -2.0 | -0.6 | -4.3 | 10.6 |
| Processed produce | 0.4 | -3.6 | -1.8 | -1.6 | 3.3 |
| Fruit and citrus fruit | -0.1 | -3.0 | -1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| Vegetables, pulses and potatoes | 0.5 | -3.7 | -1.8 | -1.9 | 3.0 |