WINNIPEG (Staff) – Imported pasta products from Italy are making their way into Canada – much to the chagrin of domestic pasta manufacturers.
If current trends continue, “Canada will be a net importer of dry pasta products in another couple of years,” said Don Jarvis, a spokesperson for the Canadian Pasta Manufacturers Association.
The Canadian pasta industry is lobbying the federal government and the Canadian Wheat Board to enforce its import restrictions under the federal legislation. Under the provisions, the board can restrict imports to retailers bringing in packages weighing 2.3 kilograms or less. But for much of the 15 years that regulation has been in place, the board has allowed wholesalers the same option.
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Jarvis said the result has been a quadrupling of imported Italian pasta products over the past four years. An estimated 20 million kilograms will come into Canada this year, displacing about 35,000 tonnes of durum.
Imported Italian pasta now holds about 15 percent of the Canadian dry pasta market at a time when Canada’s four major pasta manufacturers are struggling.
“It’s just undermining the future viability of these companies,” Jarvis said. “Obviously it backs up and hurts the producers.”
Board officials say the matter is under review. A decision must be made by Dec. 21.
