A restaurant owner from Hong Kong has paid € 85,000 for a truffle at auction in Italy. The tuber weighed 850 grams, Italian media reported today. The auction of the truffles in Alba in Piedmont is considered to be the most exclusive of its kind. Gourmets from around the world come by video. The auction serves charity purposes.
The truffle auction in Alba takes place every year for 88 years. The prices for white truffles of top quality are 3,500 euros per kilo this year. For the less renowned black truffles, the price is around 500 euros per kilo. In Italy there are about 200,000 truffle collectors. They generate sales of 500 million euros per year.
