19:36 11 November 2019
Italy: €120,000 for white truffle from Piedmont
A buyer from Hong Kong paid €120,000 for a white truffle from Alba in northern Italy at an international auction. The record specimen weighs 1,005 grams. The 20th truffle auction, organized on Sunday via telebridge, was traditionally held at the castle of Grinzane Cavour in Piedmont. Connoisseurs from Singapore and Moscow also fought for the largest specimens.
The total auctioned amount of almost €300,000 will be donated to charity. During the culmination of the truffle harvest in Italy, it was reported that there have been fewer and fewer truffles over the years. Experts explain that climate change, and - to a large extent - wild boars destroying the area where they grow are to blame.
“Boars that dig in the ground, contrary to what many people think, do not really like truffles but pose a serious threat to both those that grow naturally and to their crops,” expert Gilberto Bragato explained.
