PARIS/WINNIPEG, (Manitoba): Pasta lovers must brace to pay even higher prices for their favourite dish, as drought in Canada and bad weather in Europe damages crops of durum wheat and reduces supplies available to flour millers and food companies.
Italy’s government called a crisis meeting in May as prices for the staple food jumped by more than double the national inflation rate. With global production of durum wheat headed for a 22-year low, Italy’s famed pasta makers have had to turn to unusual suppliers such as Turkey for their main ingredient. In Toronto, Continental Noodles knew there was trouble when the cost of a 20-kilogram bag of semolina flour, milled from durum, rose 24% in a few weeks of July to C$26 ($19.15).
Family-owned Continental, which sells fettuccine and ravioli to Whole Foods and the general public, is also paying more for tomatoes used in sauce after crop setbacks in Spain and India. One of Continental’s owners, Vincent Liberatore, fears prices will rise even more now that farmers in top durum exporter Canada have seen their harvest devastated by drought.
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