In Italy, climate change has affected food production with yields down 27%. There is also a shortage of durum wheat globally, which will affect the price of pasta.
The farmers association Coldiretti said earlier this week, the climate crisis is having a big impact on Italian food production. Yields are down 27% this year with respect to the average for the previous five years.
In a report presented at the Macfrut fair in Rimini, Coldiretti said Italy’s 2021 fruit harvest was the worst so far this century. It blamed a long series of extreme weather events, which experts say are more frequent and intense because of human caused climate change. These included drought in the spring, violent storms and floods.
Pears hit particularly hard
It said pear yields were hit, falling 69% this year with respect to the average for the last five, while peach production was down 48%. Some farmers lost their whole harvest this year because of the climate emergency.
Coldiretti said Italy’s fruit-and-vegetable sector employs 440,000 people, 40% of the nation’s agriculture jobs.
Pasta prices may rise
Shoppers can expect to pay more for their pasta in coming months amid shortages of its key ingredient following a disastrous growing season.
The price of durum wheat rose nearly 90% this summer after drought and soaring temperatures hit farms in Canada, one of the biggest producers. Italy is also facing supply issues.
Jason Bull, a director of Eurostar Commodities, says the situation is dire. “The market is completely out of control and as a result there has been an approximately 90% increase in raw material prices as well as increases in freight,” Bull said. “This is a dire situation hitting all semolina producers and all buyers of durum wheat across the globe. Companies are buying at record high prices.”
Durum wheat is the key ingredient in pasta and is ground into semolina to make a variety of products including spaghetti, penne and macaroni.
Mintec, the commodities data group, said its data showed durum wheat prices at record highs. The cost of Canadian wheat has increased from C$414 per tonne at the end of June to C$780 in September, up 88%. The price of Italian wheat had moved from €305 to €480, an increase of 57%.
“Canada is a big exporter so this has fuelled fears of a supply shortage,” she said. “At the same time, the quality issues in Italy mean that Italians are potentially going to rely more on imports this year. So we have a situation where there is less to go round and demand is not going to go down.
