The Price of Pasta is Soaring

Inflation has hit the Italian pasta market. Too much rain in Europe and an unprecedented drought in Canada are leading to a shortage of durum wheat, a key pasta ingredient, and historic soaring prices around the world. Italy's government is convening an emergency crisis meeting to address surging pasta prices, which have nearly doubled as much as the country's inflation rate last month. The nation's Minister of Industry, Adolfo Urso has called the meeting for May 11th to better understand the issue and think of ways to slow the increase in the price of pasta.

Across the board, national inflation has spiked grocery product prices by 8%, but pasta's inflation rate is double that. Italy's pasta price inflation hit a staggering 17.5% in March. Currently, pasta inflation is causing Italians to spend an extra $27.60 per year on their beloved pantry staple. Italians consume more pasta than any other country, averaging about 51 pounds of pasta per year. Rising costs for this food staple is hitting the country hard. 

Italy’s Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida said in a statement, “Our intention is to reactivate the national experimental commission for durum wheat as soon as possible, not excluding proceeding with the establishment of a single national commission, to strengthen the dialogue between the players in the supply chain and for the formation of a shared price nationwide.”

One of the causes could be related to Italy’s ongoing energy crisis. Chief Italian economist for UniCredit Loredana Maria Federico said in a statement, “Italy‘s inflation dynamic continues to be affected by an ongoing adjustment in energy prices, its most volatile component.” Non-regulated energy products for domestic use, including electricity, are freely used, causing such a dramatic markup. The energy crisis has even affected the way Italians cook their pasta. Nobel Prize-winner Giorgio Parisi suggested via social media that people should turn the stove top off once they add their pasta to boiling water, trapping the heat in with a tightly fitting lid. However, this method is not endorsed by chefs since it doesn't meet their standard of al dente pasta.