5.4 million tonnes, worth €5.3 billion, of pasta were produced in the EU in 2017, Eurostat announced on World Pasta Day.
According to Eurostat, EU pasta production has increased by 2 million tonnes (60% more) compared to ten years ago.
Unsurprisingly, Italy was by far the leading EU Member State in pasta production. With 3.6 million tonnes of pasta produced last year, worth €3.5 billion, Italy accounted for 67% of the total EU production in terms of both volume and value. Italy was also by far the top EU exporter of pasta (1.8 million tonnes exported, representing 76% of the EU Member States total).
In total, almost 2.4 million tonnes of pasta were exported by EU Member States in 2017 and two-thirds (67%) of this amount was to other EU Member States.
The two main importing EU Member States were Germany (363,000 tonnes of pasta imported in 2017, representing 25% of total EU Member States’ imports) and France (337,000 tonnes, 23%).
The top two destinations for EU exports of pasta outside the EU in 2017 were the United States (167,000 tonnes, equivalent to 21% of total extra-EU exports of pasta) and Japan (77,000 tonnes, 10%).
Note: the figures refer to uncooked pasta, not stuffed or otherwise prepared.