NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Pasta has joined the list of items that are experiencing major price increases at local grocery stores.
Tom Lazzaro is the owner of Lazzaroli, a small Italian shop in Germantown where customers can buy cheeses, sauces, frozen and fresh pasta take home meals.
He told Nashville's News 2 the cost of pasta has dramatically increased over the past few months.
"Over the past three months we have seen a dramatic increase where price of wheat, durums, has gone up at least 50%," Lazzaro explained.
Experts say the spike is due to too much rain in the nation's best wheat growing areas, such as North Dakota.
The spring flooding is impacting everyone from consumers at the grocery store to business owners like John Aron with The Pasta Shoppe.
"We bring in a 40,000 pound truck load every week and a year ago we were paying $9,000 a year. This year we are paying $20,000."
Aron who has been in the pasta business for 18 years said the price increase hurts, but he has become a pro at planning ahead for these kind of situations.
"It's a little bit painful, but by being more productive and choosing our customers wisely, those are the best tools for a company to fight back with," says Aron.
The Pasta Shoppe takes high end Italian pasta and turns it into American shapes.
"We make mascots and logos so that it's part of every tailgate party," Aron said.
The business makes labels for 50 of the largest collegiate teams in the country.
Businesses say they will do their best not to raise prices for consumers.
"We worry about it of course, but right now we're just going to hang in there and see what happens down the road," Lazzaro tells Nashville's News 2.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, North Dakota typically grows three-fourths of the nation's durum, which is used to make flour for pasta.
However, this year's crop is expected to be about 24.6 million bushels, about two-fifths of last years supply.
