Pasta prices set to rise in response to wheat increases

LOCAL pasta prices are set to rise by 12 per cent as manufacturers cover the increased cost of wheat flour.

Cereal manufactures are reacting to a 17 per cent rise in the international cost of wheat, as approximately 90 per cent of wheat consumed in Cyprus is imported.

As a results, the price of locally produced spaghetti is expected to rise from 38 cents per packet to 43 cents in the coming week.

Fanis Tryfonas, General Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, explained the rise: “Just as with the recent increase of bread prices by 5 cents, so the retail price of pasta might face a justifiable increase, as the cost of wheat has significantly risen.”

The international price of wheat has risen from £94 a ton to £110 per ton due to poor weather conditions in producer countries, mainly the United States.

Tryfonas said there had not been any particular complaints about pasta prices that would warrant any investigation by the authorities. “Officials have not taken any action on pasta prices because we have not seen massive reactions from consumers, in comparison to the reaction we received with the increase of bread.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.