Climate: drought and rain risk pushing up pasta prices
Preparation of carbonara spaghetti in Rome, April 5, 2019, for carbonara day.
AP - Andrew Medichini
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Drought in Canada and heavy rains in Europe are threatening durum wheat crops and pushing market prices up.
Pasta producers fear supply problems.
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Durum wheat prices are soaring.
The tonne has gone from $ 335 a month ago to $ 430 today.
Blame it on a drop in production and strong demand on the world market.
The weather in recent months has thwarted wheat harvests on both sides of the Atlantic.
After the
drought in Canada,
which is expected to cut production in this great cereal country by 30%, it is the
rains in Europe
that threaten the harvests.
Russia
, for example, now expects a harvest of 72 million tonnes, lower than the forecast estimated at 85 million.
There are concerns about the volumes but also about the quality of durum wheat.
Heavy rains in Europe affected grain quality.
On some plots, the ears start to germinate even before being mown.
Durum wheat will be lacking for pasta and semolina, hence a rise in prices.
Agri-food professionals are worried.
Ultimately, producers will have to pass on this increase.
Consumers could therefore see the price of pasta increase in the coming weeks.
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