Italy has affirmed its status as the world's largest producer of pasta with 3,324,636 tonnes produced in 2016 (+1.6%) and sales of €4.74 billion (-1.1%), according to the annual report of the Association of the Italian Confectionery and Pasta Industries (AIDEPI), reports Ansa.

Italian producers allocated almost 1.9 million tonnes of pasta for exports to foreign markets, an increase of 3.4% on the previous year’s volumes. However, the value of exported goods dropped slightly to €2.17 billion, with exports still accounting for 46% of the total value generated.