Trucker protests threaten food supplies in Tuscany

Trucker protests over fuel costs are disrupting food supplies in Tuscany, Italy, threatening empty shelves for fruit, vegetables, and potentially fish, according to Fiesa Confesercenti. The situation is worsening daily despite current reliance on stockpiles. Supplies from southern regions like Sicily and Calabria are failing, with shortages reported for grapes, citrus, tomatoes, and peppers. Tuscany is compensating with local and northern produce, but this is unsustainable, and wholesale prices are already rising. In southern production areas, farmers are destroying unsold crops and milk is going uncollected. Confagricoltura warns foreign products could replace Italian goods on shelves, causing lasting economic damage to national producers.