With the hot weather in Canada and torrential rains in Europe, world wheat production has been severely degraded.
Faced with this shortage, the price of pasta could increase by a few cents on supermarket shelves.
If a new illustration of the impact of global warming on our daily lives was needed, what is happening in the global durum wheat market right now is telling.
The wheat harvest is expected to be very weak this year.
Consequence: the price of pasta, of which wheat is the main ingredient, should rise.
Very low productions in Europe and Canada
Take a really strong heat wave last month in Canada, add to it unusually high rainfall at the same time in Europe, you will get a collapse in world durum wheat production.
Canada and Europe are indeed two major regions on the planet for the production of this commodity.
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In Canada, the 2021 harvest collapsed 32% from the average for previous years.
In Europe, production is 23% below requirements.
And as if that weren't enough, stocks are at their lowest.
The growing concern of industrialists
In just a few weeks, this shortage sent world durum wheat prices up 30%.
"When prices are overheating, as is currently the case, we can see that this poses a problem", alarms Christine Petit, general secretary of the union of pasta manufacturers in France.
Because in a package of dough, the proportion of wheat is very high.
"Pasta is hard wheat semolina and water," adds Christine Petit.
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As in 2007, the date of the last big surge in prices, the price of a packet of pasta in the supermarket will probably increase by a few cents, but manufacturers are worried about having to bear most of the effort. "French companies will not be able to hold out over time with such inflationary prices," warns the secretary general of the union of pasta manufacturers in France.