Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
PALERMO – A first breath of fresh air has arrived for Sicily’s agricultural economy amid the delicate dispute affecting the island’s freight transport sector. The Sicilian Hauliers’ Committee and industry associations have decided to temporarily ease the blockade to allow the transit and shipment of perishable fruit and vegetable products, averting irreparable damage to seasonal production.
Regional satisfaction and the truce for agriculture
The category’s move was met with profound relief by the regional government leadership. Luca Sammartino, deputy president of the Sicilian Region and regional minister for Agriculture, publicly thanked the sector’s operators for their demonstrated sense of responsibility toward the agri-food supply chain.
“I wish to thank the Sicilian Hauliers’ Committee and all the island’s hauliers for choosing to ease the stoppage in favor of the fruit and vegetable sector,” Sammartino declared, stressing how vital this truce is at a crucial moment for leading sectors such as table grapes, which in these very weeks need to reach national and foreign markets quickly. The regional minister also reassured that constant synergy is underway with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to find rapid solutions against the continuous fuel price hikes.
Protest at the port of Palermo and criticism of regional funds
Despite the partial reopening of transport corridors, tension among the rank and file remains high. Roberta Schillaci, deputy group leader of the Five Star Movement in the Sicilian Regional Assembly, went to the protest camp set up in front of the port of Palermo to directly hear the hauliers’ demands.
At the heart of the internal debate are the €15 million recently allocated by the Sicilian Region to counter the high cost of diesel, with non-repayable grants of up to €50,000 per business. While welcoming the allocation, the Five Star member collected the category’s strong misgivings about the award criteria defined by the business decree, which operators say were drawn up without prior and adequate consideration of the real needs on the ground. Schillaci has therefore formally asked the regional administration to urgently open a roundtable to make the necessary amendments to the decree, ensuring that the subsidies effectively benefit the most exposed businesses.
Dispute goes national: October 20 meeting with Salvini
The issue now moves to the national stage. Matteo Salvini, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, has confirmed the appointment set for Tuesday, October 20 at the Prefecture of Milan. The meeting will be structured into two working sessions: in the morning with the main sector trade unions, and in the afternoon directly with representatives of the spontaneous committees formed in Sicily, Puglia and Calabria.
Issuing a firm call for collective responsibility to avoid wildcat blockades that would end up penalizing other employment sectors, Salvini has guaranteed the executive’s commitment to unlock the funds currently stuck in bureaucratic procedures in the short term. The ministry also aims to supplement available resources to tackle the global surge in raw material prices and mitigate the economic impact of the European emissions directives (Ets), deemed highly penalizing for road transport in island regions.
