Protesting truck drivers put Italy's pasta production at risk

MILAN — The production of Italian pasta is under threat as a protest by truck drivers in the south of the country over soaring fuel prices and the cost of living blocks deliveries to factories. There are also growing concerns about food supplies in Rome, as transport bottlenecks hamper deliveries from southern Italy to the capital. Italian agriculture lobby group Confagricoltura warned that producers in Sicily would have to destroy large quantities of perishable products if transportation did not resume. Pasta maker Rummo, based in the Campania region, said on Tuesday it had suspended production after running out of ingredients. Almost all major pasta producers in the neighbouring region of Puglia, which together with Campania and Sicily form the heartland of Italy's pasta production, are facing similar difficulties, CEO Cosimo Rummo told daily la Repubblica. "This means that most of Italy's pasta production has ground to a halt, or is close to," he said. La Molisana, another producer based in the Molise region, said it had experienced a significant drop in production and had been forced