A protest over fuel costs is interrupting the delivery of ingredients to Italian pasta makers. Rummo stopped production at its Benevento plant on Oct. 19 after supplies ran out, its president and CEO, Cosimo Rummo, said in an interview with la Repubblica. La Molisana said it had sharply reduced, but not suspended, production at Campobasso and was drawing on stored raw materials.
The disruption exposes a critical link in Italy’s pasta supply chain. Dry pasta is made from durum-wheat semolina and water, and durum wheat is grown especially in Puglia, according to industry group Unione Italiana Food. Rummo said other major producers in Puglia were facing similar delivery problems, although the extent of lost production nationwide has not been independently established.
Talks with the government on Oct. 20 produced a split response from haulers. Sicily’s transport stoppage was revoked, the Sicilian regional government said. Protests continued in Campania and Calabria, while those in Puglia were only partly lifted, ANSA reported that evening.
ANSA reported Deputy Transport Minister Edoardo Rixi said the allocation for diesel-cost relief had risen from €430 million to €480 million, covering applications received through August 2026. Transport associations had said earlier relief remained unpaid and said after the talks that they would watch for the commitments to become effective measures. Their next review with the government is set for Oct. 27.
Italy produced 4.2 million metric tons of pasta in 2025, Unione Italiana Food says. How much output the current disruption has cost, and when the affected plants will return to normal production, remain unconfirmed.
