Sosland Publishing notes that the pandemic boosted pasta and therefore durum wheat consumption. Exports by Italy jumped 30 percent and Strategie Grains notes that EU consumption rose 6 percent as home consumption and stockpiling of pasta increased. U.S. durum use increased last year relative to the year before though import data appears to show recent declines.
Durum wheat is most important in the Mediterranean basin, and production in the U.S. Northern Plains and Europe have trended downward more recently as it has increased in significance in Canada. Part of the problem is that durum yields are more volatile than other wheat classes. Durum fetches a premium over other wheat classes but tends to be contract grown in the U.S. and s...
