Rome, Oct 26 (IANS): Italy celebrated World Pasta Day by announcing record exports for one of its most iconic products, as its economy was suffering from rising prices and slowing output.

The 24th edition of World Pasta Day was marked around Italy on Tuesday and in some other countries with special events dedicated to specific kinds of pasta, and local traditions, reports Xinhua news agency.

There was a 33 per cent increase in pasta exports over the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2021, according to an analysis by agriculture union Coldiretti, based on data from the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).

Around 200,000 Italian farms produce the durum wheat used to make pasta, feeding a supply chain that includes 360 companies and 7,500 employees.

The pasta manufacturing industry has a total value of around 5 billion euros.

Italy remains the leading consumer of pasta globally, at 23.5 kg per person annually.

The other countries with consumption in double digits, Tunisia, Venezuela and Greece, are still well behind Italy, Coldiretti said.

Meanwhile, Germany is the top importer of Italian pasta, with an increase of 31 per cent in the period analyzed, followed by the US and France.

Pasta exports have increased despite higher production and transport costs due to rising energy prices sparked by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the eroding value of the euro currency.

The euro has mostly traded below parity with the US dollar since August.

The jump in pasta exports also showed a strong resilience amid rising wheat prices, which earlier this year touched an all-time high of $12.9 per bushel, according to data from the Macrotrends website.

However, in pasta production this has been offset by falling prices for durum wheat.

This is due to strong production levels in Italy, despite an unusually hot and dry summer in the country.