With a record increase of + 33%, it is a historic record for sales of pasta from Italy abroad where, with economic difficulties, the qualities of the basic dish of the Mediterranean diet are rediscovered. This is what emerges from the Coldiretti analysis on the occasion of the World Pasta Day which is celebrated on 25 October, based on Istat data on foreign trade in the first seven months of the year. It is the Germans – underlines Coldiretti – who spend the most to buy pasta from the Belpaese with an increase of 31% in the last year while the United States ranked second where the increase was even + 45%. under the pressure of the weak euro against the dollar while in third place France with an increase of 25%. In Italy 3.6 million tons of pasta are produced, equal to about 1/4 of the whole world – underlines Coldiretti – with 200 thousand Italian farms committed to supplying high quality durum wheat to a supply chain that includes 360 companies and about 7,500 employees, for a total value of approximately 5 billion euros. Over time, pasta shapes have also increased exponentially and have now reached 300, while traditional varieties have been added to those made with wholemeal, gluten free, those with alternative flours and legumes. “The conditions exist to respond to the demand for Italianness of consumers and invest in national agriculture that is able to offer quality products by creating virtuous supply chain relationships with agreements that guarantee fair compensation above production costs”. This was said by the president of Coldiretti Ettore Prandini about pasta, on the occasion of the World Pasta Day which is celebrated on 25 October.