Your next bowl of spaghetti could cost a pretty penne.
Little Italy’s top pasta purveyors are boiling over potential price spikes brought on by President Trump’s tariffs that could see packages of the “staple” food reach $10, which shop owners fear will be more than customers are willing to shell out.
With a punishing 107% tariff looming, 13 Italian pasta brands could be forced to choose between yanking their products from US food store shelves or raising prices dramatically.
Little Italy’s top pasta purveyors are complaining about making their products cost more to their customers due to President Trump’s tariffs. Matthew McDermott
“It’s terrible,” said Anthony Ruscigno, 42, manager of Joe’s Italian Deli on East 187th Street — which sells at least four of the 13 brands, including Pasta Garofalo, La Molisana, Rummo and Giuseppe Cocco.
“We sell a lot of pasta and, my calculation alone, it would go up to $10 a bag, which is crazy. Pasta is supposed to be a staple, an economical ingredient you cook at home,” he told The Post, adding that there’s “no comparison” between the real imported stuff and “junk” pasta made stateside that wouldn’t be affected by the price increases.
“I hope it’s just a threat and doesn’t go through, because if it does, it would definitely hurt us, bigtime,” he said.
“I can’t see a customer taking a $10 bag of pasta off the shelf and buying it. It’s very hard to believe that that would happen. So we would definitely cut down on those brands.”
Ruscigno said he generally supports President Trump’s economic policies, but worries about degrading the quality of his store’s offerings or alienating cash-strapped customers who might not be willing to hand over their hard-earned macaroni.
“You can’t make pasta here the way they do it there, not to the scale we’d purchase. That’s what frustrates us as a business,” he said.
Chris Borgatti, 32, the fourth-generation owner of Borgatti’s Ravioli & Egg Noodles on East 187th Street, said he may have to decrease the amount of imported goods he’ll sell at his store. Matthew McDermott
“With the raising of prices we’re eating those costs. We’re not passing them down to the customer, now our margins, which are already thin, are really shrinking.”
The impending tariffs on pasta represent the highest the White House has floated imposing on a specific product since the start of Trump’s import crackdown — with both a 15% baseline tariff on European Union goods plus a punitive 92% levy over accusations that Italian pasta makers have been undercutting American competitors.
The affected brands include Pasta Garofalo, La Molisana, Rummo, Agritalia, Aldino, Antiche Tradizioni Di Gragnano, Barilla, Gruppo Milo, Pastificio Artigiano Cav. Giuseppe Cocco, Pastificio Chiavenna, Pastificio Liguori, Pastificio Sgambaro and Pastificio Tamma.
Rosa Paciulllo, 68, owner of Tino’s Delicatessen on Arthur Avenue, claims the rise of pasta prices is “ridiculous. I think they’ll put us out of business.” Matthew McDermott
Barilla, which makes much of its pasta for the US market domestically, is less likely to be affected by the tariffs than other brands, according to Italian news reports.
But for local pasta shops that specialize in imported brands, higher prices could mean some real agita.
“I’m probably going to be shrinking down my catalogue of certain imported goods,” said Chris Borgatti, 32, the fourth-generation owner of Borgatti’s Ravioli & Egg Noodles on East 187th Street.
“It’s a tough decision for us. Nobody likes prices going up. It’s one of those things that affects everybody down the line,” he said.
Anthony Ruscigno — manager of Joe’s Italian Deli on East 186th Street — said it is “crazy” that the pasta brands he sells at the store could go up to $10 a bag. Matthew McDermott
“It hurts me because I can’t sell it as cheaply. It hurts the one who wants to buy it. Especially for Italian-imported goods, it’s going to limit what people bring in. It’s going to hurt Italian-American culture because we won’t be able to get it out as much.”
Rosa Paciulllo, 68, who owns Tino’s Delicatessen on Arthur Avenue with her husband Giancarlo, sells Pastificio Liguori ($7.99 for 500 grams) along with a few other brands on the list.
“I think it’s ridiculous. I think they’ll put us out of business. We can’t sell pasta for twice as much as we sell it now. Pasta is the main thing we sell in my store – it’s number one. So I hope they’re going to do something about it,” she said, noting in 30 years of business she’s never seen anything like this.
“We’d have to double it. I don’t know what we’ll do – buy American pasta?” she scoffed.
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“If we have no choice, if we have to stay alive, I don’t want to buy American pasta but how much will people pay?”
When it comes to pasta, nothing beats the genuine article, said Mike Teitel, 67, owner of Teitel Brothers, an Italian market and foods distributor on Arthur Avenue.
“Once you’ve had this pasta, it takes a little longer to cook, but once you’ve had it, you don’t want anything else,” he said of their flagship brand, Giuseppe Coco, pointing out that they’ve already had to raise prices on 17-ounce bags from $5 to $6.
A customer pays for Italian pasta at Teitel Brothers wholesale/retail shop in the Bronx. Matthew McDermott
Unlike some competitors, Teitel is reluctantly resigned to the fact he may have to pass additional costs along to customers, even if it’s received about as well as a bowl of linguini covered in ketchup.
“I have this conversation every day with people: if they raise me, I’m going to have to raise you. I apologize,” he said.
“There have been a lot of complaints about the president and this and that … everybody’s got their opinion. You like to think he knows what’s going on, I don’t know exactly what’s going on with the tariffs, why he’s creating it. You like to think there’s a purpose behind it,” he said.
“Me, myself, I take the neutral zone. I say listen, if they have to increase the price, I’ll increase the price. There’s nothing I can do. If they raise it 100 percent, I’ll only raise it 20 percent,” he added, but insisted even at an inflated price their top-seller may still be worth it.
“If you’ve tried this pasta, it’s worth every bit of $10. you go to Manhattan you’re paying $10 for it already.”
Teitel even offered an alternative for budget-conscious pasta lovers who don’t want to fork over a small fortune for their next plate of perciatelli.
“There’s De Cecco, another great pasta. It was $2.50, it went up to $3.00. It’s a great alternative to this. If you really need to save, you buy De Cecco and you’ll be happy. Most of the good restaurants use De Cecco.”
Dining and Cooking