ROMA (ITALPRESS) – The Italian table also changes with the heat. They increase the purchases of melons, watermelons, ice creams, salads, mozzarella and other fresh and ready-to-use foods. But, unlike what often happens during the high-demand phases, summer 2026 is not determining a generalized price range. This is what emerges from a elaboration of the NAC on the trend of consumption and prices of the products most linked to the summer season. In the first places melons and watermelons, followed by ice creams and ice creams, salads, mozzarella and fresh cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, canned tuna, nectarines. The distribution surveys show how in the hottest phases sales of some of these products can record very substantial increases: up to 25% for melons and watermelons and in the order of 10-15% for ice cream, salads, fresh vegetables and mozzarella.
The heat changes food habits quickly. It reduces the use of foods that require long preparations and increases the demand for fresh, light and immediately consumable products. But perhaps the most interesting data is about prices. In July general inflation was 2.9% on an annual basis, while food prices increased by only 1.1%. The so-called “shopping cart” has an even more limited growth of 1%. Behind the average figure there are also very different dynamics. Fruit recorded lower prices of 0.7% compared to last year’s July, while vegetables marked an increase of 2.6%. For some products symbol of the summer, wholesale quotations are even lower than those of 2025. It is the case of tomatoes, down by more than 8%, and nectarines, which at the end of July showed significantly lower values than a year earlier.
More supported, instead, the prices of some productions like zucchini. The increase in demand caused by high temperatures, therefore, does not automatically transfer to prices. The increased seasonal availability of the offer and the performance of the productions help to contain tensions on the family cart. “Summer confirms how quickly climate change and temperatures also affect consumption behaviour – CNA emphasizes – but this year the positive figure is that the higher demand for fresh products is not translating into a flame of prices. It is an important element for the purchasing power of families and, at the same time, for thousands of small enterprises of agribusiness, distribution and catering that characterize the Italian summer offer”. The photo of 2026 therefore tells a deeply seasonal cart: with the heat change the consumption, but at least for now does not increase in the same extent the account of the expense.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
