Southern Italy pasta production halted as truckers strike over diesel prices

Truck drivers across southern Italy have been blocking motorways, distribution hubs and port-access roads since the week before October 22, 2026, in protest at diesel prices they describe as unsustainable. The blockades have disrupted deliveries of wheat, semolina and fuel to pasta factories, dairies and petrol stations, according to the German outlets t-online and Tagesspiegel and the Jerusalem Post.

Tagesspiegel, citing the news agency dpa, reported that part of the price rise is linked to the war involving Iran and to tension between the Houthi movement and Saudi Arabia, both of which have pushed up fuel costs in the region.

Pasta factories halt or slow production

Pasta maker Rummo, based in Campania, suspended production after trucks carrying raw materials stopped arriving. The company's chief executive, Cosimo Rummo, said most of Italy's pasta production had 'ground to a halt, or is close to,' according to the Jerusalem Post. Molise-based producer La Molisana cut output significantly, while Garofalo stopped operations after semolina deliveries were interrupted, according to t-online and Tagesspiegel; Garofalo was reported to be running at around 40% of normal capacity.

Rummo told t-online that trucks and fuel tankers were no longer arriving and that company supplies had run down. The Jerusalem Post reported the Italian pasta supply chain generates about €13.5 billion a year, and cited the milling-industry lobby Italmopa among those tracking the disruption.

Mozzarella and fresh food also hit

Buffalo mozzarella production in Campania has also stopped. Fortune reported that about 1 million litres of buffalo milk produced on a single Wednesday could not be processed, because raw milk must legally become mozzarella within 60 hours and farmers lack storage for large volumes. The outlet put the loss at roughly €3 million, or about $3.4 million, over 24 hours, citing Pier Maria Saccani, director of the Consortium for the Protection of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP, who called the situation 'very, very complex and delicate.'

Supermarkets in Campania, Apulia, Calabria, Basilicata and Sicily have reported partly empty shelves for pasta, fresh produce, packaged cheese and meat, according to t-online and trans.info. Fuel stations in the affected regions also ran low, and ferry operators serving islands including Ischia and Procida said they were considering cutting services because of fuel shortages, t-online reported.

Government response

Tagesspiegel, citing the news agency dpa, reported that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government agreed a relief package described as worth more than €550 million in tax credits and subsidies for agricultural diesel, after which most blockades were lifted, though some continued and a separate fishermen's protest over diesel costs began. The Jerusalem Post cited Deputy Infrastructure Minister Edoardo Rixi and reported a figure of €150 million in aid pledged specifically to road hauliers.

Fortune separately reported that the combined aid for truckers and farmers totalled €540 million in tax credits, up from an earlier €434 million package, following an extraordinary cabinet meeting. Figures for the exact size of the package therefore vary by outlet and by which measures are counted; this piece reports each figure as attributed by its source.

Interior Minister Piantedosi instructed authorities to monitor roadblocks and enforce traffic restrictions, according to trans.info, which also reported that roughly 500 lorries were already moving under police escort between Naples and surrounding areas to keep food and fuel supplies moving. Trans.info said the government was preparing a decree combining transport and agricultural support measures, with a further industry meeting scheduled for October 27.

What is still unclear

Outlets differ on the precise size and composition of the government's aid package, and on how many blockades remain active day to day, since the situation was described as evolving through October 22, 2026.