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High pasta prices set to boil over as Canada's wheat withers

Pasta lovers must brace to pay even higher prices for their favorite dish, as drought in Canada and bad weather in Europe damages crops of durum wheat and reduces supplies available to flour millers and food companies.

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    PARIS/WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug 30 - Pasta lovers must brace to pay even higher prices for their favorite dish, as drought in Canada and bad weather in Europe damages crops of durum wheat and reduces supplies available to flour millers and food companies.

    With global production of durum wheat headed for a 22-year low, Italy's famed pasta makers have had to turn to unusual suppliers such as Turkey for their main ingredient.

    One of Continental's owners, Vincent Liberatore, fears prices will rise even more now that farmers in top durum exporter Canada have seen their harvest devastated by drought.

    The United States is also expected to harvest a smaller crop due to dryness, while drought has cut production in Spain and severe weather has produced mixed quality in Italy and France.

    Turkish exports have cooled Mediterranean and North American durum prices, but they should resume their climb when Turkey runs out in a month or two, said Philip Werle, partner at Spain-based Northstar Brokerage.

    In the meantime, Vincenzo Martinelli, president of the durum section of Italian millers association Italmopa, nervously awaits the outcome of the Canadian harvest.


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