Rome, Sept 18 - Italian pasta makers hit back on Tuesday against a boycott campaign by consumers who complain that their beloved spaghetti is getting too expensive.
A government minister joined a one-day "pasta strike" last week as he and other Italians refused to buy or eat their favourite food in protest against price rises.
But the companies which produce Italy's 3.2 million tonnes of pasta a year said they were being made scapegoats for inflation in other sectors and urged Italians to keep eating what they said was cheap, tasty and traditional food.
A 73 percent hike in the cost of durum wheat -- the only ingredient allowed in Italian pasta -- in one year has forced them to raise the price of pasta -- adding 25 euros ($34.65) to the annual food bill for an average family of four, according to the Union of Italian Pasta Industries.
Even with the price increase, a simple homemade bowl of spaghetti in tomato sauce would cost less than 50 cents per portion, with the pasta accounting for no more than 15 cents of that, the trade body said at a news conference to launch a counter-attack against the strike.
Giuseppe De Cecco, chief executive of premium brand De Cecco, said the pasta industry -- which exports 53 percent of its output -- should not have to defend itself against what he said were lies put about by consumer groups and politicians.
"What are we doing here?" an agitated De Cecco said.
"A few more cents for a product that for years has cost the same, or even fallen in price compared to inflation. For an increase of a few cents there's a pasta strike -- it's absurd."
The 3.5 billion euro sector says it felt no impact from the one-day protest from Italians who, on average, eat 28 kg (62 lb) -- or 56 packets -- of pasta year each.
But producers fear the campaign could damage pasta's wholesome image as a nourishing staple which has always been relied on for feeding even the poorest Italians.
"We decided to hold this news conference because in the press there were a lot of inaccuracies and lies," Mario Rummo, head of the trade body, said. He argued that prices of other products, such as insurance and cigarettes, had soared in comparison.
Italian inflation is running at a relatively low 1.7 percent, according to August data harmonised for the European Union, but food prices were up 2.4 percent year-on-year.
Consumer groups say the official data do not reflect real cost of living increases for people living on lower incomes.