The development of Italian pasta in the US
Chairman Claudio Vercellone
Year XXVII - N. 3 July / September 2022
Claudio Vercellone
Scientific and technical coordinator
Mia Marchini PhD in Food Science
Scientific and technical committee
Maurizio Monti Wheat and flours technician Roberto Tuberosa Agricultural Genetics
Editing
Lorenzo Bellei Mussini ufficiostampa@avenue-media.eu
Advertising Massimo Carpanelli carpa@avenue-media.eu
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by Mia Marchini
by Andrea Maraschi
by Stefano Serra
by Areej Abughrara1 and Mahamed Burgiga2
1Deputy General Manager at professionals Union Co. for Pest Control 2Chef
Pasta is an essential part in the Libyan cuisine. It is considered one of the pillars of this kitchen, especially that this meal in its various forms is cooked almost daily in this kitchen. However, the Libyan kitchen has its own way of cooking it. We would like to offer you three forms of serving this food in the form of
three meals. The first form is served as Vermicelli pasta; the second form is served through pasta served with a Libyan special sauce called albasla; the third form is presented through the Embakbaka, which is considered the most famous. Vermicelli pasta with nuts is a quite popular Lybian dish. To prepare it, you need: one kilo of meat or chicken (pieces), 400 grams of vermicelli pasta, 150 grams of almonds, 150 grams of cashews, 20 grams of raisins, 100 grams of butter, bay leaf, cardamom, black pepper, cloves, 100 ml of vegetable oil, salt (as desired). You can make this meal in this way: boil water in a pot and put in it (bay leaf, cardamom, black pepper, cloves) with salt, add the chicken pieces and leave it to boil for half an hour. Meanwhile, you put the amount of butter in a pan and fry the almonds, cashews and raisins separately until they acquire a golden-brown color. After that, chicken pieces are taken and reddened in the oven or in a frying pan, and another pot is placed in which the oil is placed and the vermicelli pasta are fried in it until they acquire a light color, add the chicken broth and flavorings with salt and leave for 15 minutes until they are cooked and served on a
Vermicelli pasta with nuts ingredientsplate and put the roasted chicken pieces with roasted nuts and serve. The second form is Pasta with Libyan sauce (albasla). To prepare it you need: 500 grams of onions, 500 grams Rushta, 500 grams of lamb, 3 tablespoons of tomato paste, 20 grams of soaked chickpeas, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, 120 ml of vegetable oil, salt (to taste), 1 teaspoon of ghee, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 100 ml of water blossom. You can make this meal in this way: put an appropriate amount of water in a saucepan with couscoussier and put in water the oil, tomato paste, paprika, turmeric and salt until it starts boiling and then put the meat, then close the pot with the couscoussier and first put the soaked chickpeas in it and then the chopped onions (julienne) until it is completely wilt with steam. After the onions have matured, take it out off the couscoussier, and the
couscoussier is brushed with oil. Then the rushta is placed in the couscoussier to start maturing with steam for 20 minutes. Then take the rushta out of the couscoussier as the meat is ready, so take the fat of the broth and add it to the rushta and mix it with hands until it acquires a golden color that is slightly reddish, then a small amount of broth is added to the rushta with a simple pinch of salt and a pinch of cinnamon, and the rushta is returned to complete its maturity over water steam for 30 minutes until it is cooked, and finally add ghee with a sprinkle of cinnamon and blossom water In the meantime, the (albasla) is prepared by adding meat broth to the chickpeas to have the (albasla) sauce that will be placed on the top of the rushta in the dish after it is cooked with the meat pieces and a simple cinnamon sprinkle on the face.
The third form is Embakbaka (with lamb). To prepare it you need: 500 grams of lamb, 400 grams of pasta,
a large onion, two cloves of garlic, medium potato, 20 grams of soaked chickpeas, two tomatoes, one green pepper, one smoked pepper, basil, 80 ml vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons Tomato paste, half a teaspoon Paprika, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, salt (to taste). You can make this meal in this way: put a saucepan on a medium heat, pour oil, chopped onions and soaked chickpeas, add tomato paste, paprika, turmeric and salt, stir the mixture well, then add the lamb meat and stir until the meat takes on a slightly light color, then add an appropriate amount of water and leave to boil for 40 minutes, then add Chopped potato, chopped tomatoes, green pepper and smoked pepper. Leave the broth to boil for 15 minutes. After the meat has matured, add the pasta to the broth and let it boil until it is cooked, add garlic cloves and serve.
Areej Abughrara, Mahamed Burgiga
Embakbaka with lamb ingredients
Pasta with Libyan sauce (albasla) ingredients
Ingredients are the same, but the price for Angela Hartnett's Bolognese pasta skyrockets: 30 pounds (about 35 euros) for the favorite dish of the London starred chef known for her Italian cuisine, where self-made pasta rules unchallenged. A reference for Italians in the City, but also for British people and others, who have adapted their culinary skills to this typical Italian dish, conceiving it as both a first and second course. «It used to cost 10 (pounds) as a first course and 14 as a main just ten years ago»Hartnett recalls to Bloomberg, stating with deep regret that if the price has risen like this today - «it's because of the inflation».
Matteo Catalani, known as the “king of pasta” in the United States, has passed away in Washington, DC, where he had lived and worked for several years. The Tuscan chef reportedly passed away following a heart attack, but investigations by US authorities are still under way to clarify the cause of death. Catalani had moved to the United States after graduation to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, a well-known chef too. In just a few years, the young Tuscan chef (just 29 years old) had become a true reference point for pasta in America, thanks also to the opening of several restaurants where he offered Italian menus. The news, which spread quickly on social media, came as a shock to his friends and colleagues.
A London-born restaurant specialising in fresh vegan pasta is coming to Machester city centre after opening its first restaurant in Covent Garden just 16 months ago. Plant-based pasta kitchen Pastan, which opened its first venue in the capital in April last year, has submitted a planning application for a new restaurant on Cross Street. Pastan began in 2020 as a London pop-up from co-founders Dean Fawcett and Jerome Ibanez, who have more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry. The concept toured venues in Notting Hill and Bristol before setting up a base in Covent Garden. The London menu features the likes of deep-fried gnocchi, pea and shallot ravioli, pumpkin and sage tortellini, and a 'signature' take on Mac&Cheese.
Pasta is one of Nigeria’s most important and popular staple foods. It often is produced from mixtures of hard and soft wheat or durum wheat. Enzyme-based flour improvement strategies enable mills to achieve consistently high product quality despite greatly varying wheat grades. Pasta is celebrating an unprecedented triumph in the Nigerian market. Within just a few decades, Italianstyle pasta has established itself as a favorite dish of many Nigerians. The growing urban middle-class, in particular, appreciates the taste and quick-and-easy preparation of pasta and often prefers spaghetti or macaroni to traditional foods such as rice, millet or garri, a cassava porridge.
Some tasty pasta that is always al dente (firm to the bite)? Here is a simple trick that optimizes cooking. Just drain the pasta a couple of minutes before you have reached the minute number indicated on the package, when a full 90% of its cooking time is over. At that point, it is more appropriate to braise your spaghetti, rigatoni, or whatever you are preparing along with the same sauce. Then, your pasta will complete its cooking along with the selected sauce, which should be diluted with some cooking water. The result may surprise you but rest assured that it will satisfy you: you will get an incredibly flavorful, tasty and, above all, always al dente pasta!
The Italian Food Excellence (Ifex) group becomes a €100 million fresh pasta and ready meals hub. In fact, after completing the acquisition of Master (a company specializing in the production and marketing of gnocchi as a regional specialty, such as spätzle) in 2021, the Aksìa Capital V fund (a fund managed by Aksìa Group), has finalized three new acquisitions in one go, incorporating Buona Compagnia Gourmet, Il Ceppo and Michelis. The Ifex Group is thus aiming at a unique strategic positioning in the market for gnocchi produced directly from the processing of fresh steamed potatoes and not from the commonly-used potato starch.
The return of the Taliban had stopped the business of Sima, an Afghan pasta maker. She was able to resume her business with support that arrived from Italy, bringing many women from her country back to work. Thanks to the partnership between the association “She works for Peace” led by Selene Biffi (a social entrepreneur working in Afghanistan since 2009) and the Girolomoni farming cooperative represented by Maria Girolomoni, communications manager, and Daniela Bellini, quality manager, Sima's dream came true. As a result, the pasta factory has reopened and 11 women are now working there again, including Sima. Girolomoni has provided the resources needed to cover the first months of operation.
The history of De Cecco pasta dates back to 1831 and not to 1886, as reported so far on the packaging of the well-known Italian pasta brand. So, from now on the De Cecco packaging will bring back the new date, proud to age 55 years in one fell swoop. The change derives from careful historical, legal, scientific and archival research that certifies that the De Cecco family has been millers since 1831 and then pasta makers with the pride of formal continuity without corporate transitions. The documentary material collected in fact reports that the De Cecco family has been discontinuous bakers from 1801 to 1811 and continuous millers from 1831 to today, and then pasta makers. According to the research, 1831 is therefore the certain, documented date of the beginning of formal continuity without interruptions, although as early as 1793 the baker activity of Francesco di Cecco, son of Filippo, has been proven.
We interviewed for you Carlo Alberto Bertozzi, President and Founder of Management Resources of America (www.groupmra.com) and descendant of the Bertozzi family, who are among the most forwardthinking pioneers of the Italian food industry. In his 50 year career, both in Italy and the USA, Bertozzi worked in sales, marketing and general management for companies such as Cirio, Levissima, General Electric and AMF. In 1984, he moved to the United States where, together with other partners, founded Management Resources of America, Inc.(GroupMRA) Carlo Alberto worked as a consultant and manager for the American subsidiaries of some of the most prestigious Italian and international companies in the food industry (including Barilla, Mutti, Garofalo, Pasta Zara, Mulino Nicoli, Grandi Salumifici Italiani, Parmareggio, Saclà, Parmacotto,
Nestlé and Illy) as well as in the durable goods industry (sports, furniture, kitchens and bathrooms and fashion). Bertozzi is an expert in the internationalisation phases in the US of Italian and European companies at any stage of business development. He is a board member of several companies in Italy and the USA. Grandson of Abele Bertozzi, the founder in 1901 of the Italian cheese company bearing the same name, today Carlo Alberto manages the American part of it. Son of Amilcare, founder together with his uncle Carlo in 1932 of the Althea agribusiness company, which still runs in Parma in the production of ready-made sauces, Carlo Alberto Bertozzi was born in Parma, in the heart of Italy’s Food Valley. He graduated in Economics
Carlo Alberto Bertozzi
from the Bocconi University of Milan, and completed his IMI and AMP programs at Harvard Business School. Bertozzi left Parma at the age of 18, but never really left it: he returns often, even today. We met him at Cibus, the International Food Exhibition, the most important trade fair dedicated to Italian agribusiness, an excellent opportunity for the GroupMRA to do business, and a good excuse for Bertozzi to return to “his” Parma.
Working in the US, I realised what an Italian company would have to do to land in America. The US is the largest market in the world and should be considered as a
domestic market, rather than an export market. At the time, Italian companies relied on importers who often had conflicting interests, dealing with multiple and even competing products. It was
precisely from this concept that GroupMRA was born in the mid1980s. I was then able, among other things, to make my greatest dream come true: to “shorten” the distance - over 6000 km - between
How was GroupMRA created and how does it operate?
Foodies in the US account for 40 million potential customers
Parma, my hometown and queen of the Italian Food Valley, and the US. GroupMRA has three divisions: the first is about Management Consulting, the second is about logistics management, administration and customer care, and the third is about sales. In practice, we start by proposing qualitative-quantitative research to the company that wants to export to the USA, to understand the possible success factors for sales in the American market. Then we manage the opening of a company subsidiary the US, we run it through logistics, customer care and financial reporting.
The first company that GroupMRA helped succeed was Barilla. What was the path?
In 1971 Barilla sold its majority stake to the US multinational W. R. Grace, a finance company. In 1979 Pietro Barilla decided to buy back the company’s from the Americans
and invested heavily in its relaunch. A unique situation had been created: the company that is now the world leader in the pasta market, a group recognised worldwide as a symbol of Italian know-how, was not selling in the United States. We realised that sales were really insignificant in the US, despite being the best-known pasta company in the US at the time, even by foodies. Moreover,
or features of Barilla pasta that would attract consumers in the States. We then helped create Barilla America and ran it. Together with two associates, I set up a sales organization and we started to offer Barilla pasta to food service distributors, especially Italians. At first, we had some difficulties, which were quickly overcome because Barilla brand was highly recognized in the US market.
their American market had only two distributors at the time. Grace had little interest in the US. We therefore proposed a series of qualitative and quantitative research to study the market, the company's situation, the products
How was distribution localised? Our target were the Foodies, the food enthusiasts, a category that accounts for 50 million potential customers in the United States, and in the metropolitan areas of New York and Northeastern US, California, Chicago.
What were the difficulties encountered at the beginning of the journey?
The main difficulty concerned logistics and low sales volumes: it
A product portfolio is a first step to enter the US market
was a strange situation because Barilla initially sold more in the small Italian provinces than across America.
Sales then exploded, and the company reacted well: the top management understood the great potential of the US market, made the investments needed, and after 15 years they opened the first production plant in Iowa, in the United States of America, moved the company to Chicago and started producing in the US. We supported them for 15 years on the path to growth in the US,
handling any difficulties, until they continued their journey in Chicago using their own forces.
What can be the difficulties today for an Italian dry pasta company that wants to enter the US market?
For a pasta company that does not sell in the US, the path is
expected to be different - sometimes more complex - path than for Barilla. Before Barilla entered the US market, every distributor or consumer knew who Barilla was anyway. For a small company entering the US market, which does not have an international reputation, the path is less clear-cut. There is a need to
In the US the consumption of pasta on a large scale takes place within the family
create a product portfolio, to understand how to market the products and to study which product features will allow access to the US market.
What are the characteristics that dry pasta must have in order to attract the market today?
First of all, its packaging must be sensational. Either the company offers a product with such a feature, or it becomes extremely difficult to present and introduce the product to new buyers. It has to be a “WOW - packaging”, in terms of design and look. Due awareness on sustainability, ecology and circularity issues is not yet raised in the US... the product must be beautiful to look at, in the first place. In addition to packaging, it is necessary to identify product qualities and features that differentiate it and make it trendy: “organic”,
“gluten-free”, alternative ingredients, “slow-processing” are the priority trends today for the US market of foodies and specialists. Moreover, as far as semolina dry pasta is concerned, value for money is also very important. Pasta has to be competitively priced. Inflation is rising to 1980 levels, but purchasing power is still high. If we delved into the reasons and occasions for buying pasta, we would see that, apart from foodies looking for extraordinary pasta, a large part of pasta consumption takes place in the family: it is mom who buys pasta. That is the reason why the price of pasta is very special, because children are happy with overcooked pasta drowned in tomato sauce. There are so many contradictions in the US market that need to be addressed. Lastly, you have to rely on a widespread network of very
performing brokers who know the big retail chains.
On generic packaging, how much does “Made in Italy” stand out and how trendy is it?
“Made in Italy” is very trendy, but it does not sell alone. It is not only the renowned Italian excellence in pasta making that drives a product to be successful on the US market.
What would you recommend to an Italian dry pasta company that wants to approach the US market? I would advise proposing an innovative and trendy product, and targeting foodies and specialists, i.e., a smaller but more innovation-conscious slice of the market. A niche of consumers who pay attention to “Made in Italy”.
Mia Marchini
“Seminary of the History of Science”, University of Bari; Lecturer in Anthropology of Food Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna
Brazil is probably sniffing out a good business opportunity. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the world has been needing more granaries to keep with the demand for wheat. Millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain remain blocked by the conflict with Russia, which is why the European Commission is planning to intervene to create a logistics platform to help cooperation between European carriers and Ukrainian exporters. 90% of Ukrainian export products would normally transit across the Black Sea, while now the EU is trying to improve road and rail transit to face the current crisis. To all this, one has to add the export ban due to sanctions on Russia. Considering that Ukraine and Russia are, respectively, the fourth
and the fifth largest wheat producers in the world, this is going to require new arrangements and balances. And this is where Latin America comes in: Brazil and Argentina, above all, are planning to increase production to meet booming demand.
The war is exposing the issues - as well as the opportunities - of a global market. It is a domino effect. As Sidney Mintz explained in his pioneering Sweetness and Power (1985), food supply is primarily a political and economic fact, and contemporary food chains depend on international connections. It is no wonder, then, that the war is deeply changing the global agricultural commodities market. And so, while a huge tap is being turned
off in Eastern Europe, the unaltered demand for wheat requires that other taps be enlarged somewhere else. This “somewhere else” is South America.
Increasing production According to CONAB, that is the Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (National Supply Company), Brazil has increased grain production in the 2020/21
The unaltered demand for wheat requires that other taps be enlarged somewhere elseA Ukrainian soldier
harvest. Data indicate that the country’s total production has reached ca. 284.4 million tonnes (which corresponds to an increase of 32 million tonnes compared to the previous harvest, i.e. +12.5%).
Speaking of wheat, total production volume has risen to 7.7 million tonnes, in spite of adverse weather conditions with prolonged periods of drought, which affected production potential. This was possible, among other things, due to the enlargements of cultivated area. As a whole, Brazil is the fourth largest producer of cereals and pulses in the world (wheat, rice, barley, soya, maize), accounting for 7.8% of world production, behind China, USA and India.
According to FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), in 2020 the country exported 123 million
tones of cereal and pulses, and it is the world’s second largest exporter, with 19% of the international market. As of 2022, however, even though Brazil is one of the leading exporters of these products as well as of coffee, the abundance of the latest wheat harvests is likely to increase its influence in this specific sector too. So, as the war is crossing out Ukraine and Russia as major exporters, Brazil’s role in the global market is going to benefit from the situation. USDA
(US Department of Agriculture) estimates that the country's wheat harvest will reach 8.8 million tonnes: this is a key factor, since the many of main buyers of Brazilian wheat would normally import large quantities of wheat from Ukraine.
New customers, new issues As observed above, Brazilian producers in the states of Mato Grosso, São Paulo and Goiás are doing their best to deal with a considerable increase in demand from European, Middle Eastern and North African countries that would usually buy wheat from Ukraine. Among them, Spain, the Netherlands and Egypt have already turned their attention to Brazilian wheat. The Netherlands and Egypt, in particular, are going to become important buyers, since they used to import ca. 99% of their wheat from Kiev. During last spring, wheat and corn prices spiked on the Chicago stock exchange, and producers began considering whether it was more
The lack of fertilisers needed for local agriculture would be a serious problem for many countriesBrazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro Brazil is increasing wheat production in spite of adverse weather conditions
advisable to keep silos full to further increase prices or to sell more in order to meet new international demand. However, the international crisis hides pitfalls as well. More than 50% of fertilisers used by Brazilian farmers come from Russia. This is why the Bolsonaro government is looking for alternative sellers,. All in all, Brazil imports ca. 85% of its fertilisers, particularly NPK fertilisers: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The potential impact of the war is even more clear when one considers that, in 2021, 60% of Brazil’s imports from Moscow - $3.5 billion out of $5.6 billion - was represented by fertilisers. It is no wonder that, in line with production’s increase, purchases of synthetic fertilisers also increased by 124% in February. This boosts the price of agricultural products, as well as the strategic role of Russia for Brazil. In a world increasingly dependent on South American
cereals, the lack of fertilisers needed for local agriculture would be a serious problem for many countries.
Taking the spot left vacant by Russia and Ukraine comes with great opportunities as well as with difficult challenges. As a whole new world of possibilities and incomes is opening up, Brazil (alongside Argentina) needs to unravel deep-rooted production logics and delicate political balances. The massive foreign sale of grain would consequently reduce supply on the domestic market, which would lead to higher prices and food inflation (13.51% in Brazil as of May 2022; 64.2% in Argentina; source: tradingeconomics.com). For what concerns Argentina, the 2022 harvest has already been fully sold, and in view of the upcoming sowing the government has imposed restrictions on cross-
border sales, triggering a reaction from the producers. Brazil has adopted a different solution.
As seen above, the government has taken advantage of the favourable market wave to increase production and exports. In February 2022, Brazil posted a sales surplus for the first time, even though its emerging role as a major player in the market is still being slowed down by the country’s dependence on foreign fertilisers. For this reason, President Jair Bolsonaro has recently put in place incentives to increase domestic production of
At the end of 2021 Brazil approved GMO wheat developed by the Argentinian company Bioceres
fertilisers, an idea which is not going to please environmentalists, since the substances useful for the production chain are located in protected areas.
Alongside war, international political balances, the problem of fertilisers and so on, another factor is playing a major role on a global scale for everyone: climate change. This is true for Brazil as well, of course. As of May 2022, the country was experiencing cold air flows moving north into southern Brazil, which could lead to risks of frost to grain production. Dryness across the centre of the country was thought to have an impact especially on safrinha corn production. The season had been quite plentiful so far, though.
The increase in showers in March and April turned drought conditions into an abundance of
soil moisture. But estimates for the second half of the year are not as optimistic, with temperatures in the Pacific Ocean being influenced by La Niña. La Niña could cause strong storm systems that may affect central Brazil, with higher frost risks in
southern states between mid-May and July. The South American monsoon arrived earlier than normal due to La Niña, and dry conditions in the final stage of the growing season may limit yield potential. In Mato Grosso, for example, rainfall has been 70%
HB4 wheat has an incorporated sunflower gene to increase its tolerance to drought conditions
below the 10-year average in April (it was its driest April in the last 17 years). Yet, Brazil’s export boom is driven by market and food systems. According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), climate change and conflicts are affecting several other countries.
Consequently, there is little doubt that Brazilian harvest is going to have a huge impact on world market prices and on the behaviour of farmers around the world.
At the end of 2021, the Brazilian government approved GMO wheat developed by the Argentinian company Bioceres for sale as flour. This transgenic wheat (HB4) is drought-tolerant, which implies that yields could rise by 20% or even 25% in areas affected by water stress.
According to Bioceres, HB4 wheat is the result of a public and
private collaboration lasting more than 18 years between the company and the research group of the Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral (Conicet-UNL), led by Dr. Raquel Chan. The research group specified that HB4 wheat has an incorporated sunflower gene that increases tolerance to drought conditions, reducing yield losses in the face of water deficit. Dr. Chan also pointed to the possibility of applying the same technique to other crops as well. The HB4 gene has already been inserted in a GMO soya variety, which has been approved in Argentina (2015), USA (2017), and Paraguay (2019). Bioceres had recently obtained approval in Argentina pending authorization from Brazil itself, the largest buyer of the cereal. GMO wheat has not been marketed yet. In the last two agricultural seasons, it has been produced under the preserved identity program,
which has guaranteed the traceability of production. However, the decision has not been welcomed by the Brazilian Wheat Industry Association (Abitrigo). In fact, President Bolsonaro has been asked to review the decision, and Abitrigo is evaluating legal options to stop imports of flour from Argentina. Abitrigo remarked that “despite the strong rejection of the international market in the last 20 years, Brazil will unfortunately become the first country to approve the use of transgenic wheat in the world”.
Furthermore, “this decision […] was adopted on the basis of criteria that affect safety”, they stated. Brazilian industrialists fear consumer resistance to GMO pasta, bread and the likes. But who knows how the market and public opinion may react in the coming years.
Andrea Maraschi
The market we are going to experience in the coming months cannot ignore the past. Without looking too far back, the legacy of the 2021/22 crop year saw, for the third consecutive time, world production fall short of consumption, which is historically extremely tight for durum wheat. In particular, in 2021/22 the world harvest was at its lowest in 15 years due to the severe famine that hit the plains of the US and Canada, halving their harvests.
A harvest of around 30 million tonnes, compared to “historical” consumption of around 35-38 million tonnes, has inevitably
forced all users to reduce their consumption, down to the 32 million tonnes recorded in the latest USDA statistics, with countries being forced to use more soft wheat blends to guarantee their local production volumes. Turkey, North Africa and even the US have reintroduced less severe limitations for other grains in their durum wheat recipes, recreating what had been recorded in 2007, with less emphasis on quantity back then due to adequate initial stocks.
The combination of small initial stocks as at June 2021 and the “default” of the US and Canada (production at 40-50% of historical levels) was the factor that led to a critical year for the entire sector - to put it mildy - with moments of great tension throughout the
whole supply chain, from agricultural producers to mills and pasta factories; all with agreements and “forward” contracts in place and to be honoured in a market environment that, with the hope of a brighter 2021/22 compared to 2020/21, had decided to arrive at the end of the crop year with stocks close to zero. Without a shadow of a doubt, the crop year that has just ended and which followed a 2020/21 characterised by Covid and extreme volatility in consumption, was marked by moments of serious shortage of supply and staggering if not dramatic price trends, to say the least. In August 2021 alone, when the Commodity Exchanges were closed, there was an increase of almost 100 €/tonne which on the Italy market “led to a spread”
of around 260 €/tonne between June 2021 and June 2022, basically almost doubling durum wheat quotations compared to the close of the 2020/21 year, when low volatility in prices had been seen. With all of the above, and having to look beyond a year that will in any case be remembered as one of the most uncertain of the last decade, we can say that the outlook at a global level for 2022/23 remains fairly in line with what began to appear last autumn when planting estimates were confirmed to be on the rise just about everywhere: first in Europe and then in the rest of the “winter” durum wheat producing countries, up to the latest news of an increase in acreages in the “spring” areas of the US and Canada.
An increase in acreages being a fact and taking for granted the commitment of farmers who traditionally have everything “ready or booked” (including fertilisers) at the time of sowing, the forecasts for the 2022 harvest were very positive right from the start, even if caution required by the current climate change and a global supply-demand deficit in the stock/consumption ratio (as of June 2021, it was 19% compared to 25% in June 2020 and 29% in June 2018) have indeed frozen any timid sign of a return to normal, especially in prices, which have steadily risen throughout the first half of 2022. Coming to the present day, those fundamentals that have characterised the last few years are powerfully back in the limelight: the climate and the trade dynamics of the main exporting and importing countries, with the US and Canada taking the usual lion’s share of sales and the Mediterranean area (North Africa and Italy) trying to make the most of its cards at a table where one plays in first-person and, unlike other grains, has no tools (ed. note “futures & options”) to reduce business risk.
Based on the latest data on harvest trends, it should be noted that the campaign that has just begun will see a total of 34 million tonnes of durum wheat produced around the world with a double-digit increase compared to 2021. Almost all of the increase will take place in the US and Canada which, after a year to forget, are returning to historical values of 5.9 million tonnes and 1.8 million tonnes respectively, with Mexico at 2 million tonnes and Australia, about to sow, at 0.5 million tonnes. The scenario in the Mediterranean area is more complex and less bright: the latest forecasts for the EU
(pending the official French figure) are below 7.5 million tonnes, slightly down on the previous year, with Morocco at 0.8 million tonnes, down 40%, and Tunisia, Turkey and especially Algeria confirming an improvement on 2021. (PICTURE 1, 2)
Going into even more detail, the unfavourable dry weather in Winter and Spring reduced yields/ha in Spain and Italy, while weather with late rains degraded Greek production close to threshing time.
While at EU level the 2022 harvest and expected consumption point to a campaign deficit of around 2.2 million tonnes, the statistics for
each country show substantial selfsufficiency for Spain (exportable 0.1 million tonnes), a surplus for France (exportable 1.0 million tonnes) and Greece (exportable 0.2 million tonnes); Italy is confirmed as a net importer with a shortfall of around 2.5 million tonnes, which according to the latest market analyses would be covered by 0.8 million tonnes from Europe and 1.7 million tonnes from nonEU countries, mainly Canada, US and Australia.
In terms of quality, in 2022, the European durum wheat harvest is uneven from country to country. In Spain and France, despite intermittent drought during the steps of the crop cycle, the characteristics are good: France is expected to produce a much better product than in 2021 which was a difficult year, and the Iberian Peninsula a healthy and protein grain with less specific weight. In Greece, a wet and rainy end of season degraded the grain quality of many lots, while in the rest of Europe, agronomic conditions were and remain favourable with a good quality level expected. Lastly, Italy, where water shortages limited first tillering, then the number of caryopses per ear and finally the correct filling of caryopses, leading to an inevitable drop in yields/ha that is even more striking compared to a favourable
year like 2021. The quality of the Italian harvest is good overall, even if grain characteristics, especially in the South of Italy, are affected by the Spring drought with a lower specific weight. In terms of healthiness, there are no problems and as far as protein content is concerned, the crop year confirms high average values with peaks of real excellence.
Turning now to consumption, the
consumption fell to 1.9 million tonnes overall, this campaign should return to historical values of 2.7 million tonnes, while in Europe, where demand fluctuations are known to be lower than in the rest of the world, consumption should not move away from the usual 9 million tonnes seen in recent years, with a slight drop in exports (minus 0.2 million tonnes) due to competition from special price pasta producers. In the Mediterranean area, consumption is expected to increase in all countries for a quick return, also thanks to increased imports, to normal levels; normality is also sought at a political level to prevent latent food tensions.
“global” outlook shows profits close to 34 million tonnes, slightly lower than production. Compared to the previous year, increases are expected in “food” in Europe, Turkey and North Africa, pointing to gradual return to historical values prior to the recent pandemic period, as well as in “feed” in Mexico, where durum wheat has historically been a possible substitute in livestock diets in case of local corn production shortage (an event that recurred in 2022/23). In the USA-Canada, after the drastic reduction in 2021/22 when
If, as expected, wheat in Canada and the United States arrives at threshing time without any particular ups and downs, a combined surplus of around 4.5 million tonnes will be generated in these two countries, which will contribute to the 2022/23 international trade that is expected to return to 7.3 million tonnes, up 25% on the disappointing previous year although still below the more than 8 million tonnes of the two-year period 2019-2020. Of these 7.3 million tonnes, in addition to volumes from the US and Canada, 0.8 million tonnes will come from Mexico, 0.3 million tonnes from Australia and 0.4 million tonnes from Kazakhstan, if and when the logistical difficulties due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are solved. Looking at trade data from the perspective of importing countries, with the exception of Algeria which is expected to limit imports to 1.1 million tonnes (-0.3 on 2021), there is a general upward trend, with Turkish demand at 0.4 million tonnes (+0.2), Tunisian demand at 0.6 million tonnes (+0.2) and
The forecasts for the 2022 harvest were very positive right from the start
Moroccan demand at 1.1 million tonnes (+0.5). Demand from Europe at 2.2 million tonnes (+0.8) and the US at 0.67 million tonnes (+0.2) is definitely on the rise, although the latter is partly of Canadian origin in transit for reexport from US ports. Turning to Europe, the downward revision of production widens the campaign shortage and as a consequence, imports from abroad are estimated at over 2.3 million tonnes, of which 1.4 million tonnes from Canada, 0.3 million tonnes from the US, 0.3 million tonnes from Australia and 0.2 million tonnes from Kazakhstan. In the EU, trade confirmed France (0.9 million tonnes), Slovakia (0.2), Greece (0.2), and Hungary (0.1) as the main exporters; Italy (0.8), Germany (0.3), Benelux (0.3) and the Iberian Peninsula (0.3) as the main importers. EU grain exports are estimated at 0.5 million tonnes, down 0.1 million tonnes from 2021, with reduction being a direct consequence of both a belowaverage 2022 harvest and increased price competition from North America on the usual North African destinations of France, Spain and Italy.
If we now turn our attention to the increasingly relevant value of end-of-year stocks, we note that, compared to 2021/22, when we
saw world stocks erosion down to less than 8 million tonnes, the latest forecasts show a value close
to 8.5 million tonnes by June 2023 which - while still below the average of pre-pandemic' years, shows a first sign of a return to stock levels more in line with a commodity with extremely rigid demand. (PICTURE 3, 4)
The increase in carry-over stocks with unchanged consumption has a positive effect on stock/consumption ratio which, from a dangerous 13% in June 2022, will rise again at the end of this crop year to more reassuring values of 20%. Unfortunately, what has just been said at a global level is not mirrored in Europe, where the 0.1 million tonne increase in stocks at the end of the
current year is a truly minimal improvement that will have to be carefully monitored in the coming months depending on actual Italian imports and EU consumption (domestic consumption and export). The same applies to EU stock/consumption ratio, where the 8% value is on the rise but it is still very low, not to mention Italy with 6%, at the very tail end, despite the increase in stocks for mills and storers by June 2023.
With the assumption that while for Europe and the Mediterranean area production figures are now certain, for the US, Canada, Turkey and the Black Sea the conditional remains appropriate. At world level only the 2022 harvest in Mexico is definite, since fields have already been threshed.
With a world production of more than 34 million tonnes, one third of which in oversupplied North America, and consumption recovering to almost match the 2022 harvest, the commercial year
that awaits us will once again see average trade, even if, due to high prices, lower than historical levels, especially towards those countries where it is possible to use soft wheat, both by tradition and by legislation, as an alternative to durum wheat in the production of finished products, pasta in the first place.
For sure, the trend of every single Supply-Demand item, in particular production and consumption, will be relevant in defining whether 2022/23 will be another year of high tensions or, as we hope, of a gradual return to normal; in order to restore the balance upset by Covid and famine, in the next two agricultural campaigns harvests
will have to be rich and beyond expected consumption. So keep watchful eyes upon progress made on the production side (Canada and the US) and, above all, on the commercial side by historical users. With the exception of Morocco, which almost exclusively turns its demand for high quality (and “grade”) durum wheat to Canada, other countries such as Algeria, Tunisia or Turkey itself could remain open to Mexican imports or decide to postpone the decision to “blend” durum wheat lots with other local vitreous grains, reducing in fact the prospect of a more pressing purchase demand from the US and Canada as early as August. While the return to large harvests in North America is undoubtedly a reassuring factor for markets, recent geopolitical tensions, which have prompted many countries with a severe shortage to implement more purchases to prevent food crises, and uncertainty about the quality of the 2022 harvest in North America are helping to keep trade and
The global outlook shows profits close to 34 million tonnes, slightly lower than production
market toned for substantial price stability. Morocco, and Tunisia as well, have ratified political decisions aimed at increasing stocks and the domestic availability of soft and durum wheat. Morocco has immediately put pressure on purchasing auctions and incentives for domestic storage, and Tunisia on support for producers, through price guarantee policies, with the clear objective of reaching self-sufficiency for durum wheat in the short term.
strongly characterised by the legacy of the previous year and the Mexican (positive) and the “Mediterranean” (average) harvests, and then take on a definitive connotation from September-October and consolidate the trend (downward?) after the final verdicts from the fields of North Dakota, Montana and Saskatchewan. A Canadian production of around 6 million tonnes with “average” quality, i.e. with 40-60% CWAD (Canadian Western Amber Durum) “grade 1 and 2” and the remainder of lower grades, would facilitate a return of the market and world prices to more stable and less speculative scenarios.
of consumption firmly above 9 million tonnes, leave no room for anything other than planning, more or less quickly, how to compensate for the now structural deficit of more than 2.2 million tonnes essentially attributed to Italy, with specific imports from origins that are able to fill both the lack of volume and quality (Greece). What made the start of the campaign even more delicate and uncertain was the gradual reduction of durum wheat stocks in the mills, and semifinished products for end-users, registered throughout Europe in the last quarter. In Italy, due to persistent high prices and a “global” outlook that is constantly seen as improving, the abovementioned reduction has led to a stock close to zero at the start of the crop year with growing attention and renewed commercial interest for wheat coming from Canada and the US. In recent years these countries have greatly improved the quality offered from a commercial point of view as well as in terms of health and pesticide residues.
If we simply assess the world situation based on what we have today, the scenario for the campaign that has just begun should present, like every year, a first quarter of adjustment,
The EU horizon, including the Italian one, seems to be taking shape. A 2022 production of just 7.4 million tonnes, at the lowest level in recent years, as well as a product and milling quality that is not always perfect in Greece and Southern Italy, given the forecast
In conclusion, if no new and unexpected climatic or geopolitical “tsunamis” occur, the commercial outlook for durum wheat is slowly starting to brighten up, starting from the overseas areas that caused the unbridled upward race in 2021. However, in order to see this improvement on our markets too, in addition to the upcoming arrivals of EU and non-EU durum wheat that were negotiated months ago, it will be necessary to maintain a regular incoming flow as early as the end of the Summer when that breath of fresh air represented by a part of our harvest will run out; traditionally or due to a lack of storage at farmers’, our harvest is delivered directly to the mills immediately after threshing.
Stefano Serra
There is a return to stock levels more in line with a commodity
Pangram is a Romanian company and part of the Colussi Group. Liviu Semenescu, the plant manager, tells us about the history of the company; he also talks about Storci and the consolidated bond with our company. He gives us a few hints about their future projects.
Storci and Pangram are two companies with a common goal: to produce excellent dry pasta. Can you tell us how the factory came into being, what work was carried out and how you managed the arrival and installation of our line?
The history of the Monte Banato brand begins in 1994, when Pangram was founded and started
the first production department of egg pasta. Pangram, thanks to Monte Banato brand, brought the concept of egg pasta to the Romanian market.
The first Monte Banato pasta production line had a capacity of only 60 kg per hour. Although at the beginning the production proceeded cautiously, the quality
and attention to the satisfaction of our customers, as well as the care for a healthy diet, quickly ranked the Monte Banato brand as one of the top pasta preferences in Romania. In the following years, Pangram focused on developing the production process to meet a growing customer demand. An extremely important step for Pangram was the acquisition of the industrial production lines, which allowed the expansion of the production flow, currently reaching a capacity of 10,000 tons per year. In addition to its leading position in the egg pasta market, the Monte Banato brand is also increasingly associated with the artisanal pasta for soups segment. The constant demand for this type of egg pasta and the lack of technology in the
production process, forced the company to look for solutions to increase productivity and, implicitly, efficiency. That is the reason for our seeking a specialist company with a great deal of experience in pasta production technologies, and with the help of the Colussi Group, to which we belong, we managed to start a strategic partnership with Storci. Therefore, the first step was the purchase, in 2018, of a Robot120/60, a machine for automatically cutting and spreading dough onto trays. Afterwards, in 2021, we installed a new 135.1-580 TV automatic continuous press with a capacity of 300-500 kg/h. All this was done to better manage the manufacture of a very special and peculiar product, with shapes from 0.60 mm up to 12 mm wide.
What do you think about the advantages of using a Storci plant? What strong points have you found?
From our experience we speak of reliable, flexible and versatile systems. In addition, the support and feedback provided have always been prompt and professional.
We would like to know something about your experience with us. We met for the first time in 2017 at Storci’s headquarters, when we started planning the restructuring process of the artisan pasta production department. A long journey together has begun since, thanks to Storci’s expertise that can provide us with strategic support to reach our goal of using production technologies suitable for the current period.
What about your future projects? Have you got anything you would like to realize?
Before the investments made with Storci, our production capacity was always lower than demand because our technology was not modern. We are planning to develop this pasta sector in the next future since there is a growing potential in Romania for the Monte Banato brand. Moreover, depending on funding opportunities through EU funds, we are also taking into consideration a possible investment in nest pasta production.
edited by Storci
Simone Marengo founded West Berkeley Macaroni, 2215 Fifth Street, Berkeley, California in 1907.1-2 Born in the Cuneo province of Italy, Marengo served as a baker apprentice before immigrating to San Francisco, California in 1888 at the age of 20.3 In the United States, he became a self-made man, successfully managing businesses and establishing himself as a well-
respected man of the community. Indeed, Marengo made such an impact that he became known around town as the “unofficial mayor”.4
In 1906, a massive earthquake and ensuing fire devastated San Francisco resulting in one of the worst disasters in United States history.5 Many people sought refuge on safer grounds in the neighboring town of Berkeley. Marengo knew
the new residents needed food, so he decided to make macaroni. To start his new venture, he built a small two-story macaroni factory on a vacant lot he purchased on the next street from his home and equipped it with the “latest ‘improved’ machinery”, which the local newspapers reported could make “5,000 pounds daily” with “fifteen skilled workmen”.6-7 Although the newspapers claimed,
West Berkeley Macaroni Factory photograph from the Oakland Tribune, April 20, 1907.
(digitized by Leonard J. DeFrancisci)
"The firm has been doing business in Oakland and Berkeley for 19 years”, there was no evidence Marengo made pasta prior to building the factory in 1907.8
At the time, other nearby macaroni factories included Piedmont Paste Co., who moved from San Francisco to Oakland, California after the
1. “West Berkeley Macaroni Factory (1907)” Berkeley-Plaque City of Berkeley Structure of Merit designated in 1991, Berkeley Historical Plaque Project, 2002, 2012, https://berkeleyplaques.org/eplaque/west-berkeley-macaroni-factory/.
2. “Macaroni Factory Enlarges Plant”, Berkeley Daily Gazette, Berkeley, California, volume XXI, number 46 (August 22, 1907), page 3.
3. Daniella Thompson, “Simone Marengo gave Berkeley macaroni”, Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association website, September 4, 2007, http://berkeleyheritage.com/berkeley_la ndmarks/marengo.html.
1906 earthquake and the Napolitan Paste Co. also in Oakland, which claimed to be in business in the San Francisco area for 30 years.9-10 Peter Costamanga and Giuseppe Bertolé acquired the company.11
In 1914, the West Berkeley Macaroni Company officially incorporated with Giovanni Coppa joining as a
4. Berkeley Historical Plaque Project.
5. “The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake”, United States Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program website, accessed April 13, 2022, https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquake s/events/1906calif/18april/.
6. Daniella Thompson, “Simone Marengo gave Berkeley macaroni”.
7. “West Berkeley Macaroni Factory”, Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, volume LXVII, number 59 (April 20, 1907), page 19.
8. Ibid.
partner.12 The factory doubled in size in 1919 and continued operations until mid-1920s.13 In 1991, the City of Berkeley designated the original building as a “Structure of Merit”.14
Leonard J. DeFrancisci National Pasta Association History Committee9. “Piedmont Paste Co.”, Oakland Tribune, volume LXVII, number 59 (April 20, 1907), page 42.
10. “Napolitan Paste Co.” advertisement, Oakland Tribune, volume LXIX, number 86 (May 16, 1908), page 20.
11. Berkeley Historical Plaque Project.
12. Ibid.
13. “Among the Manufacturers”, Oakland Tribune, volume LXXXXI, number 70 (April 27, 1919), Development Section, page X-10.
14. Berkeley Historical Plaque Project.
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Golden Gate Label from the West Berkeley Macaroni Co., West Berkeley, California, circa 1914 (digitized by Leonard J. DeFrancisci)LAW CONCERNING PRIVACY - Your data will be collected and treated in observance of the L. 675/96, for eventual sending of publicity or promotional informations, which you authorize by subscribing the present form. In every moment, according to the art. 13 of the mentioned law, you will be able to consult, change, cancel freely your data or oppose its use writing to the owner of the treatment - Viale Antonio Aldini, 222/4 - 40136 Bologna - Italy
