Barilla: “The increases of the paste necessary in order to face the crisis”

Rome - The increase of the lists of the semolina paste has had “to the dramatic moment that it crosses, by now over recent years, the entire field pasta maker”. The position assumed from the Barilla is this, than today the Guarantor for the surveillance of the prices has met to Rome, Antonio Lirosi. “Our increases of price - a famous one of the society explains - have become necessary in order to continue to make enterprise and to guarantee to the produced persons sure and of quality”. Barilla has shared with the Guarantor the necessity “to continue, with all the operating ones of the row, to manage the prices with great sense of responsibility in the interest of the final consumer”. In the detail, Barilla has evidenced to Mister prices that in period 1995-2008, the “medium increases of the paste Barilla (+26%) have been maintained to of under of the average of the market and the inflation of the prices to consumption (+32%)”; moreover, than a Kg of Barilla paste, than “in 1995 1,19 euros cost to the public, today to clearly of the inflation cost 1,16 euro”. In more than a decade, it is emphasized in the famous one, the Barilla paste “quite is diminished of 3 cent”. “In spite of the exceptional conjunctural moment Barilla the 2007) beginning of the meaningful increases of the raw materials has begun to increase to the lists only a year after (January, own in order not to pour such costs and to weigh on the Italian families”. And in spite of the increases of price applied from Barilla in recent months “the operating margins of the paste ulteriorly they have been reduced”; not only: in spite of the recent lessenings of the cost of the raw materials “today the hard grain has a still advanced purchase price of beyond 60% regarding 2006, year in which the grain it is begun to increase”. Al term of the encounter, the president I guide Barilla has observed: “We have illustrated to the Guarantor the complexity of the market in which we operate and the drama of the moment that we are facing: the increases of the prices of the paste, in a moment hard tension of all the productive factors, have become because of the outbreak of the cost of the raw materials, all the relative costs to the production process and of the changes necessary on the total markets”. Barilla has been said “sincerely made bitter from the continuous demagogic attacks to the industry pastaia, above all in a thus delicate situation for all. Our mission, from always - it has rimarcato - is that to be from the part of the Italian families offering sure they produced and superior in quality to the just price. For the enterprises he is not never pleasant to increase the prices but in this case we did not have alternatives”. “In any case - it has concluded the president - we do not forget that a Kg of Barilla paste who in 1995 cost 1,19 euro today, to clearly of the inflation, it costs to Italian families 1,16. The paste remains therefore the way healthier and economic in order to feed itself: a paste plate costs only 20 today cent”. Of various warning on the situation the Coldiretti. In 2008 - the Coldiretti has commented - the familiar paste consumption are tinning with a decrease of the 0,2 for hundreds in the amounts acquired also for effect of the increases. The consumers - he has added the organization - will spend in paste, on the base of the esteem Ismea Ac Nielsen for 2008, very the 30,5 for hundreds in more ’ in order carrying to house a quite inferior paste amount. The paste - he has emphasized the Coldiretti – remains however the preferred plate from the Italians with estimable head medium consumption that in Italy on the 28 Kg to person, three advanced times to those of an American, a Greek or a advanced French, five times to those of a German or a Spanish and sixteen advanced times to those of a Japanese. And ’ for this particularly serious one - the Coldiretti supports - than the halving of the price of the grain from the beginning of the year beyond having provoked a dramatic situation in the campaigns, where they do not succeed themselves more to cover the costs of the cultivation, he has not carried some benefit to the paste consumers who have had to second contain the consumption also for effect of the breathtaking increases of the 32 for hundreds to October the Istat. With the tender grain (for the bread) that it is come down under the 16 euro for quintal and that hard one (for the paste) under the 22 euro for quintal are to risk the next semine and with they also the supplies for the Made paste in Italy since the revenues do not concur to cover the production costs in strong rise (+56 for hundreds in a year for tan to me). The market data demonstrate - denunciation the Coldiretti - than the quotations the grain that today are halved from the beginning of the year while the paste of semola of hard grain has been between the foods that which quite have quickly the greater increments. The Ref relationship for Ancc-Coop esteem that, for effect of the increases, the Italians will only spend for the purchase of bread, paste and derived of the cereals 3,4 billions more in 2008, for a value of approximately 140 euro for family. Servants on the markets a greater stability in order to close the doors to the speculation and to concur an adequate programming of the production and a fairer distribution of the value in the row. For this the Coldiretti has started a plan in order to simplify and to rationalize the row and to recover value added to the agricultural enterprises.

06 / 11 / 2008