Germans like pasta - preferably from abroad

Italy as the largest manufacturer Germans love pasta - preferably from abroad As of: October 20, 2026 • 1:22 p.m

The consumption of pasta in this country has doubled since 1990. Germany is also one of the largest manufacturers in the EU. The undisputed leader is Italy, followed by Spain.

Spaghetti, fusilli or penne: Italian pasta continues its triumph in Europe and Germany. 4.2 million tons of pasta were produced between Bolzano and Palermo last year, more than in any other country in the European Union, as the Federal Statistical Office announced, citing data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat. That was 69 percent of the total European production of 6.1 million tons.

On the Eurostat list of producing countries, Spain follows in second place with 379,000 tons or six percent, while Germany comes in third place with an increase to a good 304,000 tons. This corresponds to five percent of the pasta produced in Europe. The production volume of uncooked pasta sold was reported.

Particularly loyal customers are people in Germany, whose per capita consumption of pasta has more than doubled to 10.1 kilograms since 1990, as the Association of German Grain Processors and Starch Manufacturers (VDGS) states. In addition to dried pasta, the range of fresh pasta in the refrigerated section is also growing.

A special feature of German production is the high proportion of egg noodles. Last year, almost half (46 percent) of the pasta produced in this country contained eggs. For comparison: the EU average was only 18 percent. In Italy, the classic pasta country, only 17 percent of pasta contained eggs, and in Spain it was only two percent.

But spaetzle and the like are also on the decline in Germany. According to previous information from the Federal Office, since 2023 more pasta without eggs has been produced in this country than pasta that contains eggs. Despite the general increase in pasta consumption, the production of German egg noodles has fallen by more than a quarter within ten years.

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The Association of the Grain, Mill and Starch Industry (VGMS) wants to dispel the prejudice that good pasta only comes from Italy. "Italy rightly has a great pasta tradition. But this has obviously given us the impression that good pasta must inevitably come from Italy, while egg noodles and spaetzle in particular come from Germany," said VGMS managing director Peter Haarbeck.

This no longer does justice to what German manufacturers offer. According to the association, German manufacturers produce a wide variety of classic durum wheat pasta through to regional specialties. The durum wheat required for this has long been growing in Germany, which enables a complete regional value chain.

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According to the starch association, 464,000 tons of durum, as the grain is also called, were ground in the eight German mills last year. Only a smaller portion has to be imported because the currently estimated harvest volume has increased to 361,400 tons.

Nevertheless, around three quarters of the pasta consumed in Germany now comes from abroad, although per capita consumption is around ten kilograms per year. “The pass of the noodle is not a quality parameter,” said Haarbeck. Quality is a question of raw materials and know-how. He advised consumers to pay attention to the country of origin when purchasing.

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | Germany is the third largest pasta manufacturer in the EU Oct 20, 2026 | 1:10 p.m