A restaurant owner from Hong Kong has paid € 85,000 for a truffle at an auction in Italy. The tuber weighed 850 grams, the Italian media reported on Sunday. The auction of the truffles in Alba in Piedmont is considered the most exclusive of its kind. Foodies from all over the world come by video. The auction serves good causes.
The annual truffle auction has been taking place in Alba for 88 years. The prices for top quality white truffles are 3500 euros per kilo this year, experts say. For the lesser-known black truffles, the price is around 500 euros per kilo. In Italy there are about 200,000 truffle collectors. They generate a turnover of 500 million euros per year.