Italian durum wheat growers seek support as self-sufficiency falls to 56.5%

Italian growers warn of mounting pressure

Italy’s durum wheat industry is seeking stronger production support as falling acreage, low farmgate prices and rising costs increase the pasta sector’s reliance on foreign grain. Confagricoltura, an Italian agricultural organization, said the industry is in a state of serious difficulty that could weaken the country’s ability to maintain domestic production.

According to Confagricoltura, climate-related disruption is reducing agricultural productivity, while higher energy and production costs linked to multiple global crises are squeezing growers. At the same time, producers are receiving progressively lower prices for their wheat. The organization said many farms are operating at a loss and that some growers are leaving the sector.

Acreage declines and the supply gap widens

Data from Confagricoltura’s research center show that Italy’s area planted with durum wheat decreased by 10% between 2012 and 2025. Over the same period, the national self-sufficiency rate fell from 78% to 56.5%. Confagricoltura estimates that Italy would need more than 880,000 additional hectares of durum wheat to achieve self-sufficiency.

The country now depends on foreign suppliers for almost half of the durum wheat processed into pasta, according to the organization. That exposure is increasing each year while margins for cereal growers contract or turn negative. For pasta manufacturers, greater reliance on external supply can increase vulnerability to harvest disruptions, logistical problems and changes in availability on international markets.

The figures also point to a widening divide inside the Italian pasta chain. Pasta is a major processed food associated with Italian manufacturing, but the domestic grain base supplying processors has weakened. Without improved returns at farm level, expanding acreage by the amount identified by Confagricoltura would be difficult, particularly as climate pressure continues to affect yields and production costs remain elevated.

Campaign promotes pasta made entirely from Italian wheat

Confagricoltura welcomed a campaign by Italy’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, known as MASAF, encouraging consumers to choose Italian pasta. In this case, the campaign defines Italian pasta as a product manufactured entirely from Italian durum wheat. The organization described the initiative as a useful signal of support for domestic cereal growers and a way to increase consumer awareness.

However, Confagricoltura said consumer promotion alone cannot resolve what it considers a long-term industry crisis. It wants extraordinary resources allocated to targeted measures that support farmers’ income and enable the agro-industrial supply chain to obtain a growing volume of domestically produced durum wheat. The organization did not specify the value or design of the requested measures in the supplied statement.

Food security concerns extend beyond farming

Confagricoltura president Massimiliano Giansanti also linked grain availability to wider geopolitical and financial risks. Speaking at the Rimini Meeting, he said agricultural products have become instruments of influence in wars, including through the ability to deliver or withhold grain shipments.

Giansanti also warned about food inflation, arguing that central banks cannot control it and that higher food prices could cause further disruption in financial markets already unsettled by wars. For Italian policymakers, the immediate challenge is therefore to improve growers’ economics without undermining the competitiveness of pasta processors or increasing costs for consumers. The industry’s requested support will be judged by whether it can retain producers, stabilize planted area and raise the domestic share of the durum wheat used by Italy’s pasta sector.