Pasta makers cheer Turkey as its durum wheat flows abroad

Turkey's spectacular breakthrough as an exporter of durum wheat has spared pasta fans another year of price pain and the country is poised to remain a crucial source of the ingredient prized in Mediterranean cuisine.

On track to be the world's second-largest durum exporter in 2023/24, Turkey has helped fill a supply gap caused by a second drought in three years in top supplier Canada and stifled a price surge seen at the season's start.

Global stocks of durum are still forecast to hit a three-decade low this season, according to the International Grains Council, an intergovernmental body. But Turkish shipments have averted an immediate shortfall and kept durum in line with easing world prices of staple grains.

Previously a net importer of the hard wheat whose milled flour is used to make pasta, couscous and certain types of bread in the Mediterranean region,...