A rallying call from Sardinian businesses and institutions to raise the alarm of the island's productive sector and families, caught between high transport costs and the costs of the ETS, before the government and the European Union . Coldiretti Sardegna is proposing a united front, reiterating the need for a unified response to the crisis in business competitiveness and the repercussions on Sardinian citizens. According to Coldiretti Sardegna, there are two possible solutions: first, propose to the government a permanent tax credit to offset the increased costs of freight transport; second, engage in joint discussions with the European Union to identify measures that concretely recognize the disadvantages of insularity and eliminate the competitive gap between Sardinian companies and the rest of Italy and Europe.
The dispute, in fact, affects the entire regional economy and Sardinian families. Even today, the cost of bringing goods in and exporting them squeezes company margins, slows investment, and impacts prices and citizens' purchasing power . Coldiretti Sardegna, sharing the alarm recently raised by Confindustria Sardegna, reiterates the need to strengthen a common initiative. With overall transport costs rising by up to 50% in five years, already denounced by the agricultural organization in early 2026, there is a need for genuine territorial continuity of goods, accompanied by stable fiscal instruments that recognize and compensate for the disadvantages of insularity.
"Sardinian businesses and families cannot continue to pay the price of a geographical situation that translates daily into higher costs and fewer opportunities. For those who produce on our island, the transport issue is a brake on growth, made even more severe by the current international crisis," emphasizes Battista Cualbu , president of Coldiretti Sardinia. "This is why we are calling on the business community and institutions to rally together: we need a united front that forcefully brings this emergency before the government and Europe, each according to their own expertise. Sardinia's uniqueness must be recognized, ensuring our businesses have the opportunity to compete and citizens enjoy more equal conditions."
" Our proposal to the government is for a permanent tax credit that directly addresses the increased cost of transporting goods and can specifically offset the disadvantages faced by Sardinian products when they reach markets," explains Director Luca Saba. "Greater quantities of products sold outside the island correspond to higher transport costs and therefore a higher compensation, while for smaller quantities the compensation is lower. We believe this proposal could proportionally reduce the additional cost actually incurred by businesses. Discussions with institutional experts will help identify the best tools to implement an intervention that can have real benefits for our regions," he adds. "Joining forces and engaging in ongoing dialogue is a fundamental objective today."
For farmers and ranchers, transportation is a double burden: to deliver feed, fertilizers, equipment, and other inputs, and to transport the produce off the island . This double burden erodes agricultural income and impacts processing and marketing. Price is compounded by the certainty of service: for perishable products and livestock, regular connections, available boarding points, and reliable timetables are as essential as affordable rates.
Alongside the tax credit proposal to the government, Coldiretti Sardegna is proposing to the Region and the business community an ongoing dialogue with the European Union to identify tools that recognize the island's insularity and bridge the competitive gap. Central to this is effective territorial continuity of goods and adequate year-round transport connections.
"The challenges facing Sardinian businesses and the entire agri-food supply chain require a shared response," Saba and Cualbu conclude. "Our products must be able to reach European and international markets at competitive costs. Insularity is a permanent condition and requires ongoing compensation : we propose a structural tax credit to the government, and we propose to European institutions a discussion on the tools to recognize this specificity and bridge the competitive gap. On these objectives, we invite Sardinia to speak with one voice."
(Unioneonline/En.Ne.)
