Angry Italians to go on national pasta strike

On the 13 September, there will be no spaghetti, fettucine, farfalle or rigatoni in Italy, as the country goes on its first-ever pasta strike.

Angry Italians are downing their forks in response to a 30 per cent price rise in the nation's favourite food, along with steep rises in the price of coffee, mozzarella, bread, biscuits and schoolbooks.

A second strike over the increase in the price of a cup of coffee in a cafe, from 70 euro cents (50p) to one euro, has also been threatened.

According to Italy's four largest consumer groups, the average household in the Bel Paese will be stung for an extra £700 this year on their shopping.

"Giving up pasta for the day will be a symbolic gesture," said a spokesman for the consumer groups. "Italians should not buy any pasta that day, and try their best not to eat it at home."

Most Italians eat pasta at least once a day, and consume around 54 kilograms over the course of the year.

Consequently, the strike-organisers are prepared for serious withdrawal symptoms. Emergency stands offering free bread and milk will be set up in all major Italian cities for those in need of carbohydrates.

The pasta-makers said the reason for the 30 per cent price rise was a shortage of wheat because farmers were switching to produce crops for the biofuel industry. Currently, a half-kilogram (1.1lb) pack of pasta costs around 70 euro cents (50p) in Italy and 70p to £1.10 in the UK.

However, a spokesman for the consumer groups said the rises were rampant speculation by the producers.

"The statistics show the price of grain has now fallen, but the price of bread, for example, keeps rising, without any link to the wheat price. According to our analysis, bread, fresh pasta and deserts have gone up by 12, 20 and 70 per cent respectively in the last year, while milk has increased by over 300 per cent."

The threat of the strike drew has drawn a rebuke from the prime minister, Romano Prodi. "There is no justification for the alarms over price rises," he said. In fact, he said the prices "are in some cases going down substantially".

He warned, however, that the "the price of prime materials should not be influencing, in a significant way, the final price that consumers pay. There are ample margins for improving efficiency to recuperate the money, just as occurs in other European countries."