Ajdovščina, 20 September (STA) - Sixty years since launching pasta production in Ajdovščina, Mlinotest inaugurated on Thursday what it says is the biggest fresh pasta factory east of Italy. The investment is valued at almost EUR 5m.
The operation for the production of fresh pasta and potato dough products received a EUR 714,000 subsidy from the Agriculture Ministry.
Dejan Židan, the former agriculture minister who now serves as parliamentary speaker, told the ceremony that the company, incepted in 1867, survived owing to innovation.
The new operation will allow Mlinotest to increase its presence in foreign markets as well as at home, where it is the market leader in stuffed pasta, Mlinotest CEO Danilo Kobal said.
Robert Rutar, pasta and flour milling operations manager at Mlinotest, noted that European pasta market was valued at EUR 5.7bn in 2017, while European companies produced 5.3 million tonnes of pasta.
Italy as the biggest producer accounts for 72% of the output, while Germany is the biggest importer. Italy is also the largest consumer at 26 kilos per capita, which compares to 6.7 kilos in Slovenia.