French pasta makers warned on Monday of an upcoming shortage of durum wheat, caused by climate problems in Canada and Europe, calling on governments to help.

"Climate change endangers the pasta market," warned Sifpaf (union of industrial pasta manufacturers) and CFSI (French committee for industrial semolina), in a joint press release released Monday evening.

In question, "far too abundant rains in Europe and an unprecedented drought in Canada", which lead to a "shortage of durum wheat, the only raw material for pasta, and to the historic surge in world prices", they said. indicated.

Heat wave in Canada and insufficient harvest in Europe

Canada, hit this summer by an exceptionally intense heat wave, is the leading producer of durum wheat, for which it alone accounts for two-thirds of world trade.

The "heat dome" that has affected the country, "should lead to a harvest (...) of less than 4.2 million tonnes, 32% less than the average of the last five years and nearly 30% less than the forecast for July 20, ”according to figures from the Canadian statistical office StatCan, reported in the press release.

"With a historically low stock, it will not be possible to supply the world market with stored hard wheat", alarmed industrial pastries and semolina.

To this is added "an insufficient harvest in Europe with 7.3 Mt for a need of 9.5 Mt", they say, indicating that the abundant rains which hit France during flowering and during the harvest "greatly reduce the usable potential of French durum wheat to make pasta ”.

An emergency plan called for

Since mid-July, "the world reference price for durum wheat has undergone a historic increase of more than 30% in a few weeks, an increase which could further accelerate sharply once Canada has finished harvesting and confirms a global wheat shortage. hard ”, according to the manufacturers.

In this context, they ask the public authorities to put in place “an emergency plan” to enable them to ensure their supply of French wheat and to ensure that distributors pass on “the explosion in the price of durum wheat in the selling prices to get through this exceptional crisis ”.

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