Italian pasta exports have doubled in the past 20 years, rising from 740,000 tonnes to two million tonnes, with durum wheat semolina emerging as the most popular variety, a new study has found. At the same time, the number of countries importing Italian pasta has grown by 34% to almost 200, according to the latest industry report published by the Association of Italian and Italian Pasta Industries (AIDEPI), reports Ansa.

Over the first seven months of 2018, pasta exports grew by 8% on average in the main importing countries of Italian pasta, Germany, UK, France and the US. In France, growth stood at 11% for the period. However, the best performances of the period were recorded in Russia (+76%), The Netherlands (+29%), Saudi Arabia (+27%) and Australia (+16%).