The price of diesel, approaching 2.3 euros per liter, threatens the entire baking supply chain in Sardinia: from production to distribution, right down to jobs.

The alarm was raised by bakers from Confcommercio Nuoro Ogliastra, who described a situation that had become increasingly difficult to sustain.

"Diesel fuel is part of the price of every loaf," explains Angelo Masala of the Dettori bakery in Flussio. "When fuel prices rise, it doesn't just increase the cost of the van that delivers the bread for a bakery. It also increases the cost of transporting flour, raw materials, packaging, and everything else that enters our bakery every day. We work on a consumer product, with already very low margins, and we can't automatically pass every increase on to the customer. The problem is that, by absorbing price increases, there comes a point where production is no longer economically viable."

The situation is even more delicate in an area like Nuoro and Ogliastra. Small towns, long distances, low population density, and an extremely fragmented distribution increase bakeries' costs. "The real risk concerns businesses and jobs," emphasizes Monica Secchi, of the historic Secchi bakery in Nuoro: "Behind a bakery, there's more than just bread and focaccia: there are families, employees, suppliers, and a business that, especially in small towns, provides an essential service every day."

Confcommercio Nuoro Ogliastra therefore draws attention to a problem that, in Sardinia's inland areas, also has a social dimension. The loss of economic sustainability of deliveries could penalize smaller and more remote towns, where population decline has already led to the disappearance of numerous businesses and services over the years.