T. Ozbun
Research expert covering food retail and all food topics for Italy and Brazil
Pasta market in Italy - statistics & facts
Italy is well-known for its love of pasta, which is a staple food in the country and is consumed by the majority of Italians on a daily basis. Pasta is so beloved in Italy that consumption exceeds the average production of wheat of the country. Due to insufficient local wheat production, Italy must import large quantities of durum, mostly from Canada, to meet its needs. In fact, it was the leading country in pasta consumption, with its citizens consuming an average of 23 kilograms of pasta per year. Italy also held the top position among major pasta-producing countries, producing nearly double the amount of pasta as the second-ranked country, the United States. The country produced 3.8 million tons of durum wheat in 2022, which is ideal for making pasta. Production was mostly concentrated in two southern regions, Apulia and Sicily, from the over 1.2 million hectares of cultivated land throughout the peninsula.
International trade
In 2021, Italy was the leading exporter of pasta worldwide, accounting for 28.3 percent of total pasta exports. In 1955, the majority of the pasta produced in the country was consumed locally, with only five percent exported abroad. However, by 2022, 61 percent of pasta produced in Italy was exported internationally, indicating its immense popularity across the globe. That year, in fact, over 2.4 million tons of pasta were exported, worth just under four billion euros. Germany was the leading destination of Italian pasta, accounting for over 463 thousand tons.Production and retail
Italy had 3,652 companies manufacturing macaroni, noodles, couscous, and other similar farinaceous products and 110 factories solely dedicated to the industrial production of pasta which, in 2022, reached a production volume of 3.5 million metric tons. Dry pasta was the most popular type sold in the country, with a value close to 1.12 billion euros, followed by fresh pasta at 792 million euros.Price inflation
Although the average monthly producer price of durum wheat decreased by almost half between June 2022 and April 2023, the index price of pasta and other similar products increased by nearly 12 percent during the same period. Within a year, the average price of pasta in Italy rose from 1.7 euros per kilogram to over 2.1 euros, with significant price disparities between cities in the county. Ancona had the highest average price for pasta at 2.44 euros per kilogram and Cosenza the lowest at just 1.27 euros.
