Whether dry or fresh, Italian pasta is conquering the world. The country boasts world leadership in the sector: first world producer with 3.7 million tons (22.3 percent of the total, followed by Turkey and the United States) and main exporter with 2.1 million tons (43 percent of the total, again ahead of Turkey). Italy also holds the record for the highest per capita consumption in the world: 23 kg of pasta per year (19.8 kg of dry pasta and 3.4 kg of fresh pasta), ahead of Tunisia (17 kg per capita). However, Italy is not self-sufficient in durum wheat production, so much so that it is the world's fourth largest importer. Sourcing comes mainly from Canada, France and Greece. The data are contained in a detailed report by Mediobanca, which for the first time analyzed the entire supply chain. The sector is also tempting for investors, as shown by some recent financial transactions involving solid Italian family firms. Control by foreign capital already reaches 7.4 percent of companies. The most recent case involved the historic Pastificio Mulino Rey (founded in 1851) in the province of Asti, which was taken over by the Edeka Group, a leading German food retailer. Other recent transactions had involved the pasta factories (mainly gnocchi and fresh pasta) Master, Michelis, Il Ceppo, which entered the crosshairs of the private equity fund Aksìa Capital, and Canuti (frozen pasta), taken over by the American Riverside Company.
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