On December 16, 2025, the Italian Competition and Market Authority announced the launch of a “cognitive investigation” targeting the entire agri-food sector.
While in France the Commission of Inquiry into the margins of manufacturers and large retailers has effectively begun its mission (which should be completed by May 25, 2026 at the latest), our Italian neighbors are not to be outdone.
Based on the observation that between October 2021 and October 2025, food prices in Italy rose by 24.9% (an increase of nearly 8 percentage points higher than that recorded over the same period by the general consumer price index) and following complaints from agricultural producers about the increase in their margins, the local authorities have decided to take matters into their own hands.
Producers largely attribute their complaint to the imbalance in bargaining power between the “upstream” players in the sector (producers and suppliers) and the “downstream” players represented by distributors to end consumers.
Indeed, the authority notes that, unlike distributors, producers and suppliers constitute a highly fragmented base.
This could allow large retailers to unilaterally impose economic and operational conditions on supply, obtaining and maintaining “unjustified” profit margins higher than those granted to their suppliers.
Thus, on December 16, 2025, the “Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del mercato” announced that it was launching an investigation into the role played by large retailers in the agri-food sector.
The investigation is expected to be completed by December 31, 2026.
Will the “très français” Egalim system succeed in being exported beyond our borders?
To be continued!