Pasta producers face growing pressure as prices rise
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Rising prices for pasta in some European countries significantly outpaces the general level of inflation, which causes dissatisfaction among consumers. Writes about it Financial Times. Thus, prices for pasta in Italy in May were 14% higher than a year earlier. In previous months, the increase in prices in annual terms was even more significant: 15.7% in April and 17.5% in May. In the UK, pasta prices rose in April in annual terms by 27.6%, in Germany – by 21.8%, in France – by 21.4%.
This increase in prices causes dissatisfaction among users. Italy is the world’s leading pasta eater, with the International Pasta Association estimating that Italians eat an average of 23 kg of pasta per year. The Italian consumer protection association Assoutenti has already called on Italians to go on strike of sorts and not buy pasta during the week of June 22. Another consumer advocacy group, Codacons, has contacted the Italian antitrust regulator, urging it to look into whether manufacturers have colluded to manipulate pasta prices. Some consumer organizations have called on the Italian authorities to set a price ceiling for pasta. In May, Italy’s industry minister, Adolfo Urso, met with pasta producers, and the authorities eventually decided not to set a price ceiling.
Pasta producers, including the Italian companies Barilla, De Cecco and La Molisana, as well as the French Panzani, say that the rise in prices is not due to their desire to earn extra money, but to objective reasons, including an increase in production costs, including prices for energy carriers and logistics costs, due to the situation in Ukraine. In addition, a significant portion of the pasta is made from Canadian durum wheat. In 2021, Canada experienced dry weather, which led to a decrease in wheat production and an increase in its prices. Prices have fallen since then, yet they are still 18.8% above June 2021 levels. “Prices (for pasta.— “b”) are still high because companies continue to use stocks of wheat they bought at high prices. As soon as these stocks run out in three to four months, prices will come down,” says La Molisana CEO Giuseppe Ferro.
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