Italy is facing a shortage of fresh buffalo mozzarella after nearly a week of highway blockades by truck drivers disrupted milk deliveries in the south of the country.
The consortium that represents 100 makers of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP on Wednesday said its members had been forced to suspend production for the last three days owing to a lack of buffalo milk. They warned the crisis was “worsening day by day”.
Fresh mozzarella makers are just the latest agribusinesses hit by the truckers’ blockades in protest against high fuel prices, which began on Friday and have since spread across southern Italy, causing major supply-chain disruptions.
Tomato farmers and pasta makers have also been struggling, warning of fresh produce going to waste as deliveries fail to reach markets in time, while food processors are shutting down because of shortages of raw materials.
Under normal circumstances, makers of mozzarella di bufala, mostly located in the countryside around Naples, process around 1mn litres of buffalo milk every day, producing 250,000kg of fresh cheese. The consortium’s strict rules require that the cheese be made no later than 60 hours from when the milk was collected.
“For us, every hour counts,” Pier Maria Saccani, director-general of the Consortium for the Protection of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, told the FT. “The dairies aren’t working, and the farms have nowhere to store their milk.”
Saccani estimated that the consortium’s members would lose combined income of €3mn per day as long as the disruption continued. The industry was already under strain from rising production costs, including the soaring price of milk.
Major pasta makers such as Rummo have been forced to suspend production after exhausting their existing stocks, and newly harvested wheat fails to arrive.
A spokesperson for La Molisana, another major producer, told the FT the company had a “drastic reduction in production,” owing to the lack of wheat deliveries.
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Italian truck drivers block roads in Palermo over high fuel costs
In Sicily’s Pachino region, tomato growers had warned earlier this week that tonnes of fresh tomatoes had gone unharvested because of the inability to ship out the fresh produce.
Petrol pumps in many areas ran out of fuel, while some regional airports faced jet fuel shortages. Supermarket shelves were also emptying as retail logistics were also affected, preventing restocking.
Meanwhile city mayors in the Campania area have warned of a deepening garbage crisis as trash collection is also affected.
The trucker strikes add to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s woes, as her government is already grappling with the aftermath of violent riots and looting in Milan and other northern cities.
Government ministers have met the truckers in a bid to defuse tension and persuade them to call off their protests. On Wednesday authorities changed tack, urging protesters to disperse and vowing to escort non-striking lorries through the blockades.
Speaking in parliament earlier on Wednesday, agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida called the situation “truly unjustifiable” as he lashed out against the protesting truckers for “preventing the delivery of fresh goods”.
Adolfo Urso, the industry minister, warned that “preventing the passage of trucks only, while allowing cars to pass, constitutes a roadblock with criminal consequences, including imprisonment”.
Rome said on Tuesday it had unblocked €480mn in tax credits for the purchase of diesel, and another €590mn in incentives to help truckers to acquire new vehicles to modernise ageing fleets.
Amid growing pressure from the government and powerful industry groups, truckers in Sicily decided late on Tuesday to call off their strike and resume normal transport services. But elsewhere, including around Naples, the truckers insist they will continue their action.
“It seems a bit like a war between the poor,” the buffalo mozzarella consortium’s Saccani said. “The government should find a way to break this deadlock . . . We’re truly risking bringing an entire economy to its knees.”