Olive oil sales in Italy have jumped 22 percent since COVID-19 hit, and stores are finding that Mediterranean diet staples are now the top sellers.
Carrai, whose store is in one of the hardest-hit regions near Milan, said that in the early days of the epidemic, people flooded stores and bought them out of essential items. As the initial panic has subsided and people have become used to their new restrictions, shoppers have begun coming in for a few days’ worth of groceries, focusing on staples like pasta and olive oil, she said.
Farming industry leaders are appealing to Italian citizens to support local farmers and food producers by buying Italian.
Enrico Allasia, Piedmont regional president of the farmers’ federation Confagricoltura, wants Italians to be aware of the negative impact COVID-19 will have on the economy, and to realize that their buying habits can play a role in stemming that effect.
“We ask all citizens to focus their buying choices on Italian products, to consume high-quality food and sustain the whole food chain,” Allasia said.
Source: Olive Oil Times
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