Italian retailers warn of food shortages caused by truck drivers' protest

ROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) - A protest by Italian truck drivers over fuel prices and the cost of living is causing food shortages in shops, with deliveries disrupted and fresh produce rotting, retailers said on Wednesday.

The protests, which began in southern Italy last week, have also disrupted operations in at least two regional airports in Calabria because they cannot get deliveries of aviation fuel.

With traffic snarled in various parts of the country, long queues formed on the A1 motorway near the southern city of Naples after truckers restricted access.

Trucks and tractors drove into the central square in the northeastern city of Ravenna as the protests spread and farmers added their voices.

The ANCD-Conad group, representing retailers operating under the Conad supermarket brand, said large quantities of perishable products including fruit and vegetables, as well as milk and meat were stranded on trucks and in warehouses.

"The freedom to protest cannot translate into undermining citizens' right to receive fresh food or destroying the value created by Italy's agri-food supply chains," said the group's president Maurizio Pelliconi.

GOVERNMENT TO MEET ON THURSDAY

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's cabinet plans to meet on Thursday to approve a package bringing together aid measures for truck drivers and farmers, her office said in a statement.

The government has set aside around €1 billion ($1.1 billion) this year to help truck drivers cope with surging fuel costs and replace older vehicles with less-polluting models.

Deputy Infrastructure Minister Edoardo Rixi called for an end to the protests, saying they were also disrupting supplies to hospitals, and warned the government was prepared to take a harder line against hauliers.

"If someone is breaking the law, then at a certain point the law must be enforced," he told reporters.

With tensions over economic difficulties running high in Italy, weekend riots saw gangs of mainly young people go on the rampage in Milan and other northern cities.

The government responded on Tuesday with a new security decree targeting underage offenders.

($1 = 0.8905 euros)

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin in Milan, Giuseppe Fonte and Francesca Piscioneri in RomeWriting by Keith Weir, editing by Gavin Jones)