By Francesca Piscioneri and Alvise Armellini
ROME, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Truck drivers' protests that have seriously affected fuel and food supplies in southern Italy were easing on Thursday as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government was lining up aid and taking a harder line against roadblocks.
Since last week, hauliers have been blocking roads and motorways to protest against high fuel prices, but their representatives said roadblocks would be lifted in Sicily following talks with the government.
Truck drivers in Calabria also suspended their protest, while Vincenzo Parisi, speaking for hauliers from the Campania region around Naples, told RAI public radio he hoped roadblocks could be lifted in the area later on Thursday.
SEVERE DISRUPTION, BUT NO TOILET PAPER SHORTAGES
The protests have caused "severe disruption" in Campania, affecting supplies to supermarkets, petrol stations and even hospitals, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Edoardo Rixi told RAI radio.
However, Meloni's office dismissed as "ridiculous" a front-page report by opposition newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano suggesting that government headquarters in Rome were running out of toilet paper due to the truckers' blockades.
In Naples, fuel shortages were making it harder for doctors to reach hospitals and clinics and for ambulances to respond to emergencies, the head of the local order of physicians and dentists said.
"We understand the truck drivers' concerns, but we are calling for a responsible protest. Fuel supplies for ambulances must be guaranteed and healthcare workers must be able to get to work," Bruno Zuccarelli said.
MELONI TO CHAIR MEETING ON APPROVING AID
Antonio Ferraioli, chairman and chief executive of tomato sauce and pasta producer La Doria, told la Repubblica daily that the company had stopped production in seven plants in southern Italy and placed half of its workforce on forced leave.
"If the protest continues, products from southern Italy will disappear from supermarket shelves across the country and will be replaced by imports or products from other parts of Italy," he said.
Meloni was due to chair a cabinet meeting in Rome to approve a decree bringing together aid measures for truck drivers and farmers, including financial compensation measures for high diesel costs.
The government also said it was working to ensure the distribution of essential goods, including food and medicines, offering police escorts to trucks seeking to go past roadblocks.
(Reporting by Francesca Piscioneri and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
