Italians will be tightening their belts this Christmas, spending less on food for their holiday feast due to the economic crunch, according to the Confederation of Italian Farmers (Cia).
Italians this year are expected to spend some six billion euros to celebrate Christmas but to buy between 3.5% and 5% less food and drinks, a Cia study predicted.
In order not to betray the holiday spirit, the study said, less will be spent on such things as fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese and sweets, while Italians will still pull out their wallets for wine, bubbly and salmon.
Sales of exotic fruits, caviar and oysters are expected to suffer the biggest blow this Christmas, as they did last year, Cia said.
According to the Cia study, the economic crisis will also drive more Italians to do their holiday food shopping in discount supermarkets.
