The price of durum wheat, the main ingredient in pasta, has soared by 90% due to poor crop yields.
The durum wheat crop in Canada, the world’s leading exporter, is expected to drop by nearly one-third due to extremely hot, dry weather. As a result, pasta prices are predicted to rise, especially if demand remains high as consumers cook at home during the pandemic.
Durum wheat is used to make semolina, the flour that is the base for most forms of pasta. Other kinds of wheat can be substituted, but those are in short supply also.
“This is a dire situation hitting all semolina producers and all buyers of durum wheat across the globe, a spokesperson for Eurostar Commodities, a grain importer, told The Guardian. “Companies are buying at record high prices.”
Italy’s wheat crop has also been affected by bad weather, meaning that Italy will probably seek to import more durum wheat, putting more upward pressure on prices.
