Macaroni

Macaroni was manufactured in the U. S. 50 years ago. But not until the last 25 years has the product assumed importance. The heavy Italian immigration after 1900 did much to increase the demand for it. Just before the War, there were 373 macaroni factories in the U. S., whose output was 250 million pounds annually, in addition, 130 million pounds were imported.

During the War, European macaroni was practically unobtainable here, and the U. S. industry grew. By 1920 there were 450 producers with a production of about 450 million pounds, while our imports fell to only one million pounds. Meanwhile, per capita consumption here had risen slightly from 3.9 pounds to a little over 4 pounds annually.

In 1923, imports of macaroni rose to 3 1/2 million pounds, most of it from Italy. But the U. S. in the same year exported over 7 million pounds of home-made macaroni to the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, San Domingo, Belgium, Honduras, Panama, China, Japan, Australia.

Italy still leads easily as the chief macaroni exporting nation, however. Last year, she exported over 35 million pounds. France ran a good second with about 30 million pounds.