Mamma mia! A posh pesto crisis

it has been an ingredient of the best italian cooking for centuries – but the world’s most authentic pesto could disappear because cheap supermarket versions are ruining traditional basil farmers.

the plunging price of basil, the key ingredient in EU-PROTECTED Genovese pesto, has slashed producers’ profits.

Some are making just £8.50 a day on their entire output, according to Confagricultura, italy’s agriculture confederation.

real Genovese pesto can only be made with basil grown on the hills around the city in northern italy.

But huge demand for low-cost basil varieties for supermarket shelves has driven the world price of the local, higher-quality herb to rock bottom. andrea Sanpietro, of Confagricultura, said: ‘farmers find themselves facing a real crisis.’

Pesto alla genovese is made with Genovese basil, salt, garlic, Ligurian extra virgin olive oil, european pine nuts and a grated cheese like Parmigiano reggiano or Grana Padano.

Last month, it emerged that world demand for pine nuts was destroying pine forests, and pushing the price up.

as a result, vital ecosystems for creatures from tigers to chipmunks were increasingly under threat.