French pasta makers warned Monday of an upcoming shortage of durum wheat, caused by climate problems in Canada and Europe.
Canada, hit this summer by an exceptionally intense heat wave, is the leading producer of durum wheat, for which it alone accounts for two-thirds of world trade.
To this is added "an insufficient harvest in Europe with 7.3 Mt for a need of 9.5 Mt", say the French manufacturers of pasta, in a press release published on Monday.
They also indicate that the abundant rains which hit France during flowering and during the harvest "greatly reduce the usable potential of French durum wheat for making pasta".
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"What is interesting in the recent episode is the fact that these weather events are concomitant in two very important producing areas", explains Stéphane De Cara, research director at INRAE. The direct culprit is indeed the weather, but climate change contributes to increasing the likelihood of such events or of such events occurring. "
According to the researcher, phenomena of drought, heavy rainfall or even frost, such as those which occurred in France this spring, should multiply over the coming decades. "I am not very worried about the increase in the price of a packet of pasta following this year's episode, on the other hand I am worried in the coming decades that this type of event will result in repeated declines in food production. . With crises that can be cascading, and have human, social or politically important consequences. "
