“The economic impacts of pandemics and price hikes are really hard for companies that are struggling. Going forward at this rate – says the president of Confcommercio of the province of Rimini, Gianni Indino – they will be forced to pay the higher costs to the final consumer. But whether it is an increase, it will never compensate for the increases they suffer: work will remain at a loss and, above all, small businesses could risk going out of the market. From the government we would have expected a stronger response in support of the economic system with regard to expensive energy, which is reverberating above all in a disproportionate increase not only in bills, but also in raw materials. Instead, only partial and therefore insufficient responses came from the new decree for business support. Measures that require reinforced tax measures, including on the side of moratoriums and credit. Concerns and uncertainty about the prospects for 2022 are recovering and micro and small businesses, already severely tested by the pandemic, are holding up spending. In fact, on the consumption side, the Confcommercio (ICC) consumption indicator shows an average + 8.4% in 2021, a figure that does not allow the recovery of what was lost the previous year and is 7.7% lower than to 2019. The deficit compared to the pre-pandemic for the tourism and leisure supply chain, then, remains double-digit and is nothing short of alarming. On the contrary, monthly issuance soars: it has risen by 1.5% on a basis and by 4.7% on an annual basis. These are the numbers that give voice to a perception that we experience every day in our cities. Just take a tour: there are few people in the streets, even less in public establishments, very few inside the shops despite the sales period. On the other hand, the warehouses are full, energy costs increase dramatically along with those of raw materials, to which are added in some cases the limited availability of some products on the market. Paradoxically, even pulling down the shutter temporarily is not enough to mitigate the effects of this surge in company costs, because bills still come with very high figures, employees have to be paid and, on the other hand, there is no collection. After the encouraging signs of recent months, there are many sectors that are struggling: in addition to the entire tourism chain, there are also the retail clothing and automotive sectors. Unfortunately, even in the fight against expensive energy there is a complete response. Of course, system charges are being reduced for the first quarter of 2022 in favor of SMEs, but the need for a structural action plan is confirmed which includes the reform of the electricity bill system, the choices for the reduction dependence on foreign supplies and measures to compensate for the negative impacts and increases on the transport chain that affect the entire economy. We are waiting, but there is not much time left to save the system of small Italian businesses ”.

cs Gianni Indino, president of Confcommercio of the province of Rimini