Italy’s government convened crisis talks Thursday to investigate the reasons behind a surge in prices for pasta, one of the country’s most beloved and culturally important foods.
Adolfo Urso, the country’s minister for enterprise, chaired a commission of lawmakers, pasta producers and consumer rights groups in Rome to discuss what could be done to bring down pasta prices, which soared 17.5% in March from the same month in 2022. Pasta inflation moderated a bit in April but prices were still up 16.5% over 12 months.
That climb was more than double Italy’s broader measure of consumer price inflation. Pasta prices have soared despite the price of wheat — the main ingredient — falling in recent months.