Greek pasta producers cut prices under national anti-inflation initiative

Manufacturers put pasta lines on reduced-price lists

Major pasta manufacturers in Greece are cutting prices under a national initiative intended to address the high cost of living. According to Newsit.gr, Barilla Hellas, Melissa Kikizas and EURIMAC are participating with reductions that in some cases reach double-digit percentages. The initiative also involves supermarkets and is designed to restrain retail prices during a period of continuing inflationary pressure.

Melissa Kikizas has included a broad selection of products, among them orzo, No. 6 spaghetti, tortellini, No. 10 spaghettini, linguine and whole-wheat penne. EURIMAC is participating with products including its new MAKVEL low-glycemic-index range, as well as short-cut pasta and varieties used for lasagna and pastitsio. The breadth of the lists indicates that the program extends beyond a small group of entry-level products.

Barilla and Misko discounts cover 70 product codes

Barilla Hellas announced reductions on 24 Barilla product codes and 46 Misko codes, based on the published information cited by Newsit.gr. The offer focuses particularly on multipacks, while covering spaghetti, penne, orzo and whole-wheat pasta under both brands. The largest disclosed reduction applies to one code, Barilla Integrale Farfalle 12×500 grams, with a discount of as much as 44%.

The reductions improve affordability in a category that already has a relatively low entry price. Pasta can be found in Greek supermarkets for less than €1 per package, meaning that price increases generally have a smaller absolute effect on household budgets than increases in more expensive packaged-food categories. For manufacturers and retailers, however, percentage reductions across dozens of codes may still affect realized revenue, promotional spending and product mix, particularly where discounts are concentrated on multipacks.

Consumption remains high despite wheat-market risks

The reductions come as international wheat prices are rising and the global market is receiving warning signals from drought and declining exports from Ukraine, Newsit.gr reported. These factors matter to pasta producers because durum wheat is their central agricultural input. The source did not provide procurement costs, production volumes or company margin figures, so the direct financial effect of the retail reductions cannot be quantified. Nevertheless, a prolonged increase in grain costs would make it harder to maintain deeper discounts without adjustments elsewhere in the supply chain.

So far, pasta has shown resilience against inflation in Greece, with solid performance in both value and volume supporting the growth of domestic manufacturing. Demand has also remained comparatively durable during earlier periods of economic stress, including the 2015 debt crisis and the 2020 pandemic. The International Pasta Organisation estimates average annual consumption in Greece at 12.2 kilograms per person and places the country fourth globally in 2025, behind Italy, Tunisia and Venezuela. Germany occupies fifth place after replacing Peru in the top five. High per-capita consumption gives producers and supermarkets a large, stable market for promotions, but the balance between lower shelf prices and more expensive wheat will determine how sustainable the current offers prove to be.