Unusually dry weather and climate change in Italy have hit production and sent prices for the fine product skyrocketing.
Last Sunday, the Alba White Truffle Show held its famous annual truffle auction, with proceeds going to charity.
The biggest truffle weighed in at 850 grams and was sold to a buyer from Hong Kong, who paid a whopping €75,000 via satellite.
Over the past 25 years, Italy has seen a 30 per cent decrease in truffle production, meaning climbing prices.
This year, the average price for the delicacy is €6,000 euros per kilogram, rising by up to €3,000 from last year.
Experts claim that the drop in production is the result of a combination of changing climate patterns, drought and severe storms, along with a trend to grow more vines for wine.
Almost two-thirds of Italy’s farmland has been devastated by a prolonged drought this year, costing Italy’s agricultural industry around €2 billion, according to the nation’s farmers association Coldiretti.
Isabelle Gianicolo of the National Truffle Study Centre stressed that Italy’s recent extreme weather influenced the quantity of the white truffles, but not their quality.
With Reuters
