Last Thursday, Italian Business Minister Adolfo Urso called for an urgent meeting of a new committee to discuss the increase in the price of pasta to solve the crisis that affects part of the Italian identity.
According to the “Washington Post”, pasta prices in Italy increased by 17.5% in March 2023 compared to last year, in a jump that is more than double consumer price inflation in Italy, which amounted to 8.1% in March, according to the European Central Bank. This price hike also coincides with the decline in the global price of wheat.
Italian Business Minister Adolfo Orso stated that consumers would benefit from the committee meeting, “because the increased interest in this problem has already led many companies to say that the pasta price hike is temporary.”
accusations and justifications
Orso’s invitation to the meeting comes at a time when consumer groups have accused the producers of speculation, and have filed an official complaint demanding that the authorities investigate. Producers say that there are many factors behind the high costs, “including supply chain disruptions and inflation,” which forces them to impose more duties on pasta.
In this context, the spokeswoman for “Union Food Italia” Ivana Calo indicated that “energy materials, packaging and logistics services recorded a significant increase in prices, which increased costs. And the increase in costs is in line with the increase in food prices.”
-But Italian pasta is produced from durum wheat, whose prices have fallen by 30% since last year, according to Coldiretti, Italy’s largest agricultural authority.
-“There is no justification for the high prices.”
This is in addition to the fact that the pasta industry requires only the addition of water to the wheat, “which does not justify the price increase,” according to “Coldiretti” in the words of its president, Furio Trozzi, who stressed that “there is no justification for increases other than purely speculative on the part of the large food groups that It also wants to boost its balance sheets with additional profits.”
“Pasta is a staple in the Italian diet,” Trozzi said. “Increasing its price is like raising the price of an ear of corn for Americans.”
Indeed, pasta is the official daily meal of the Italian citizen, as more than 60% of citizens eat it on a daily basis, according to the Washington Post.
Also, any dispute or discussion about pasta in Italy, which costs about two dollars a bag, is a matter of concern to citizens in all countries.
