Food System

Durum wheat, semolina and pasta. Signs of crisis in the ‘Made in Italy’ supply chain

February 3, 2025

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The supply chain of durum wheat, semolina and pasta ‘Made in Italy’ is registering signs of crisis – in the relations between agriculture and industry – that deserve particular attention.

Table of Contents

1) Durum wheat, semolina and pasta. Production data in Italy

Italian production of durum wheat, semolina and pasta pasta – although not as important as others (e.g. wines, dairy products), in terms of overall turnover – has a leading role in the global image of ‘Made in Italy’ and the Mediterranean diet. In addition to being a unique resource for some agricultural districts in Southern Italy.

Production data, in terms of multi-year average, are summarized as follows:

– durum wheat surface area in Italy, 1,2 million hectares

– average production (last 3 years), 3,6 million tons

– total processed durum wheat, 6 million tons (of which 2,2-2,6 million tons of foreign wheat)

– ground semolina, 4 million tons (3)

– pasta produced, 3,6 million tons

– pasta exports, approximately half of production.

2) Import of durum wheat in Italy

Import of durum wheat from various EU origins (France, Greece, and Eastern Europe) and non-EU countries (Canada, USA, Kazakhstan, Mexico, etc.) responds today to the need, on the part of the processing industry, to maintain a level of supply of raw materials adequate to the demand (domestic and foreign) for pasta.

The technological needs of high-protein durum wheat – which last century justified the need to resort to foreign durum wheat – can now be fully met by domestic durum wheat. The quality of which has improved greatly over the last twenty years, thanks to new varieties and more rational agronomic techniques.

3) Italian supply chain, political support

The Italian Government, in 2016-2017, had introduced two important support measures, direct and indirect, for the national ‘100% Made in Italy’ pasta supply chain:

– ‘durum wheat fund’. The ministerial decree of November 2, 2016 established the so-called ‘durum wheat fund’ which still provides for state aid ‘de minimis’, granted to agricultural companies that sign three-year cultivation contracts with industries. (1) This aid could now be doubled, it should be noted, thanks to the recent European reform of the regime ‘de minimis’. (2)

The initial ceiling of the ‘durum wheat fund’ was 10 million euros, to be divided pro quota on the hectares declared. The average contribution for the 2017/2018 campaign, for example, was 65 euros per hectare. An amount that does not change the crop account of the agricultural company much, but helps to absorb the expense for certified seeds;

– ‘pasta origin decree’. The subsequent ministerial decree of 26 July 2017 introduced the obligation to indicate the origin of durum wheat only on the label of pasta produced and marketed in Italy. (3) An ineffective rule due to violation of the TRIS (Technical Regulation Information System) Directive (EU) 2015/1535, and yet applied (4,5).

4) Objectives

The two ministerial decrees above-mentioned aspired to stimulate the Italian durum wheat supply chain on both the supply side, of durum wheat and seeds, and the demand side:

– seed companies and farmers. Agricultural companies receive an incentive to grow durum wheat with a three-year contractual guarantee, tied to the use of certified seeds (for the benefit of seed companies, under pressure from the increasing use of self-produced seeds by agricultural companies).

Coldiretti as always, behind the scenes, carried water to its own mill at the expense of farmers. In fact, S.I.S. S.p.A. chaired by its national vice-president Mauro Tonello, now in Federconsorzi 2 orbit, acquired from CREA the exclusive 15-year concession on ‘Senatore Cappelli’ durum wheat in those same weeks. To then impose abusive business practices on Italian farmers, as determined by the Antitrust Authority. (6)

– pasta industries. The ‘pasta origin decree’ introduced the possibility of using the tricolour symbol on the pasta label and referring to the country where the wheat was grown ‘Italy and other countries’ (EU, non-EU, EU and non-EU, as the case may be), when at least 50% of it is Italian. (7) A half incentive.

5) Supply chain contracts, the initial success

The synergistic effects of the two decrees on the Italian durum wheat, semolina and pasta supply chain were immediate:

– Granoro and De Matteis Agribusiness, previously, had been the pioneers in valorising local durum wheat with their respective lines ‘Dedicato, 100% Apulian wheat’ and ‘Armando, 100% national wheat’; Barilla, in turn, had promoted and supported cultivation contracts starting from the 80s;

– other big brands pasta producers such as Divella, De Cecco and La Molisana, encouraged by the aforementioned decrees, have instead begun to stipulate contracts with private and cooperative stockers who in turn stipulated contracts with agricultural companies, so that they could access the aid de minimis.

The pinnacle of development of supply chain contracts was achieved in the period 2020-2021, covering approximately 200.000 hectares, equal to approximately 17% of the area cultivated with durum wheat in Italy. (8) In a complex scenario, on the global ‘durum wheat’ market. (9)

6) Sowing 2024, industry backtracks

Supply chain contracts for the cultivation of national durum wheat seem to have worked quite well for the first two three-year cycles. The 2024 sowing campaign instead recorded a clear reduction in volumes and contracted surfaces. According to the information collected by GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade), in fact:

– Barilla has reduced its commitments to historical suppliers of the Italian supply chain, -25% approximately in quantity

– Molisana has not renewed its contracts with Central-Southern stockers

– other industries have confirmed or even expanded the areas under contract, but the net balance is almost certainly not positive.

7) Provisional conclusions

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (MASAF) has refinanced the ‘durum wheat fund’ with 36 million euros, doubling the maximum contribution per hectare from 100 to 200 euros. (10) Without however addressing the problem of unfair commercial practices. (11)

The cultivation of durum wheat in Italy, however, is faltering, perhaps in part due to the opacity of price lists and market disruptions on the Bologna Commodity Exchange, complaints about which have been ignored by Coldiretti, its Filiera Italia foundation and the relevant prosecutor’s office. (12)

The #fairprice guaranteed by law, on durum wheat as well as on semolina and pasta, remains the great absentee from every political debate. Beyond the recurring mockery, in Rome as in Brussels (11,13).

#VanghePulite

Dario Dongo

Footnotes

(1) Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. Ministerial Decree 2 November 2016 https://tinyurl.com/2pfw8rzy

(2) Dario Dongo. State aid in agriculture, ‘de minimis’ doubles in EU. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 24.1.25

(3) Dario Dongo. Origin of pasta, silence on spelled and kamut. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 24.11.17

(4) Dario Dongo. Decrees origin pasta, rice, tomato, plant location. Uncertainties and dangers. FT (Food Times). May 31, 2018

(5) Dario Dongo. Pasta origin, which labels? GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6.11.17

(6) Dario Dongo. Decree on the origin of the wheat on the pasta label, the Lazio TAR and EU rules. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 27.1.23

(7) Dario Dongo. Senator Cappelli wheat and unfair commercial practices, confirmation by TAR Lazio. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).

(8) The Italian milling industry in 2023. ITALMOPA https://tinyurl.com/486w7vd3

(9) Dario Dongo. Durum wheat, global crisis in sight? Italian pasta production at risk. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 12.8.21

(10) Law 12 July 2024, n. 101. Conversion into law, with amendments, of the decree-law 15 May 2024, n. 63, containing urgent provisions for agricultural, fishing and aquaculture enterprises, as well as for enterprises of national strategic interest https://tinyurl.com/4nupn6pk

(11) Dario Dongo. DL agriculture, yet another mockery of Lollobrigida. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 5.5.24

(12) Dario Dongo. Durum wheat, reports of ‘scams’ ignored by Coldiretti and Filiera Italia. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 22.2.24

(13) Dario Dongo. Unfair trade practices, EU proposal for regulation. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.12.24