World Durum and Pasta Forum in Rome: global pasta market reaches €14.6 billion as durum sourcing shifts
The third World Durum and Pasta Forum in Rome put the global dry pasta market at €14.6 billion, up 0.8% in the year to 28 June 2026, with production of 6.9 million tonnes. Europe accounts for about half of the market and Italian brands hold some 42% in the United States, while Italy's 2026 durum crop of 3.8 million tonnes falls far short of national milling needs.
A €14.6 billion market, growing slowly
The third edition of the World Durum and Pasta Forum was held in Rome at Palazzo Brancaccio, bringing together leading Italian and international operators across the durum wheat and pasta chain. International markets, prices, consumption, imports and exports and the outlook for durum wheat were the central themes, according to Repubblica and Il Mattino, which both published the figures presented at the event.
Discussion started from a global dry pasta market worth €14.6 billion, with Europe still at the centre of world balances and Italian brands playing a leading role abroad. Data collected in 60 countries show that, in the year ended 28 June 2026, the market grew 0.8% in value against the previous year, while production reached 6.9 million tonnes, up 0.4%. The consumption report underpinning the numbers was prepared by Affari & Finanza in collaboration with NielsenIQ.
- Global dry pasta market: €14.6 billion, up 0.8% year on year
- Production: 6.9 million tonnes, up 0.4%
- Europe: about half of the global market, volumes up 0.9%
- Asia Pacific: €1.1 billion, up 2.3%
Europe back to volume growth
Europe confirmed its position as the main market for dry pasta, accounting for roughly half of the total and returning to growth in volume terms with a 0.9% increase. The Asia Pacific region remains considerably smaller but also posted positive momentum, reaching €1.1 billion, up 2.3%.
Signs of volume recovery were visible in most of the countries analysed, pointing to a more favourable environment than a year earlier, Repubblica reported. The gap between value growth of 0.8% and volume growth of 0.4% indicates that part of the market's expansion still comes from pricing and product mix rather than from additional consumption.
Italian brands hold about 42% of the US market
Leading Italian brands hold about a quarter of the dry pasta market outside Italy, according to the analysts cited by Il Mattino. That weight is significantly higher in some strategic markets: in the United States their share reaches around 42%.
The same brands continue to generate value and consolidate share, supported in most markets by premium price positioning relative to the category average. For exporters, that combination — a quarter of the market outside Italy at above-average prices — is the core of the business case for Italian pasta abroad.
Italy mills far more durum than it grows
In 2026 Italian durum wheat production stood at about 3.8 million tonnes, against total milling of 6.5–6.8 million tonnes on a five-year average basis. The gap leaves Italian millers and pasta makers dependent on imported durum, which is why the forum devoted dedicated sessions to the origins that weigh most on global balances: Canada, the United States, Europe, Turkey and North Africa.
Market overviews were presented by Dean Arsenie (Canadian, American and Mexican durum market), Emilio Ferrari (European durum market), Tair Batalov (Kazakh durum market), Saban Buflanri (Turkish durum market) and Stefania Verini (world pasta production and export). Industry contributions came from Francesco Casillo (Casillo Spa Società Benefit), Marco De Matteis (De Matteis Agroalimentare Spa), Vincenzo Divella (Divella Spa), Angelo Mastrolia (Newprincess Spa), Margherita Mastromauro (Pastificio Riscossa – Unione Italiana Food), Marina Mastromauro (Granoro Spa), Massimo Menna (Pastificio Lucio Garofalo Spa) and Nicola Ricci (Molitoria Umbra Srl). Repubblica framed the shifting supply picture in its headline as a move "from Canada to Turkey".
