Pasta is a type of noodle and is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine. Pasta is made from dough of durum wheat flour mixed with water and formed into sheets or various shapes, then cooked and served in any number of dishes. Pastas are divided into two broad categories namely dried pasta and fresh pasta .There is an increasing demand for pastas by a rising number of smaller, busy families in need of faster cooked meal options. Pasta consumption is also increasing because of long shelf life, versatility, high nutritional content and ease of preparation.

Foods that can be cooked in a few minutes are becoming popular in home and public food outlets which includes fast food outlets, restaurants and in the workplace. Because of which manufacturers will focus on manufacturing food products which has a reduced cooking time, good flavour and also appealing to consumer needs such as hygiene, affordability, safety and nutrition. There are a lot of consumers worldwide who are opting for instant noodles due less time left for food preparation by rising numbers of women who are now working and working longer hours as well. According to the reports, in the near future instant noodles market might be affected because of consumer awareness of negative impact of eating habits on health such as excess weight and obesity caused due to consumption of instant noodles.

The staple foods such as rice and noodles due to their long shelf life are gaining in popularity. The advantage of these staple foods is the short preparation time and adaptability. Rice provides more than 20% of the calories consumed by people throughout the world, due to which in terms of nutrition and caloric intake, it is the leading grain in the world. In China, paddy and rice processing industries are expanding rapidly.   

Pasta Rice and Dried Food Industry Current Trends

As per the reports given by global industrial analyst, the global pasta market might reach a volume of about 18 million tons by 2015 and the world instant noodle market might reach a volume of about 139 million packs by 2015. 

Major Pasta Rice and Dried Food Industry Players

Some of the major leading companies in the pasta and noodles markets are Armanino Foods of Distinction, Strom Products, Fiori-Bruna Pasta Products, ConAgra Foods, Barilla, American Italian Pasta, Archer Daniels, Campbell Soup, Sbarro, Nissin Foods, Tingyi, Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Acecook Vietnam, Ajinomoto etc.