What is the typical market price of white truffle?
White truffle is a wild plant fungus, similar to shiitake and porcini, produced in Italy. It only appears at auctions and in media headlines. Because it is precious, it is called the white diamond. It does not have a particularly distinctive taste when eaten, but because it gives off a special aroma, many people have been fascinated by it since ancient times. Let us take a look below at how much white truffle costs!
How much does white truffle cost?
The price of white truffle fluctuates every year, but it is usually between 800 and 1500 US dollars per pound (453 grams). In a good year, the world production of white truffle is only 3 tons. The largest white truffle in history was found in 1951, weighing about 4 pounds, and its price at the time was 5000 US dollars, but 5000 US dollars was, for people not long after the end of World War II, a “sky-high price” no matter how you looked at it.
Production area distribution of white truffle
China also produces white truffle, mainly concentrated in the surrounding areas of Yunnan and Sichuan. White truffle with relatively high edible value is mainly divided into two types. Compared with European white truffle, the individuals are slightly smaller, but there is not much difference in the unique aroma of white truffle, and the quality of mature white truffle is still excellent. In the early period, domestic white truffle was excluded by the French growers' association because it seized a large share of the European market, so the export price during purchasing was relatively low, but as world white truffle production gradually decreased, its price rose rapidly year by year.
Auction prices of white truffle
1. On November 16, 2007, the white truffle described as the “diamond of delicacies” was bought by an Italian female gourmet in Hong Kong, China for a record-breaking 950,000 Hong Kong dollars. This white truffle weighed 1.2 kilograms, much heavier than the ordinary 40-gram truffle of the same kind, and on November 18, 2007 it was officially made into 4 main dishes to be served to the buyer of the white truffle.
2. In 2008, the world was hit by the financial tsunami, and the value of the white truffle known as the “white diamond” was inevitably affected. At a white truffle charity auction held simultaneously in four cities around the world via satellite at the Grand Lisboa in Macao, China, the largest “truffle king” produced that year was won by Ho Hung-sun for 1.56 million Hong Kong dollars, weighing 1.08 kilograms, averaging 1400 yuan per gram.
3. The 2009 Italian white truffle international charity auction dinner was held on the evening of the 12th at the Grand Lisboa in Macao, China. Among them, a white truffle weighing 800 grams and more precious than diamond was bid on through live satellite broadcast in four places: Macao, China, London, Rome and Moscow. After repeated bidding, the white truffle was finally won by SJM for 250,000 US dollars, and this was also the third consecutive year that the Ho Hung-sun family won the annual world truffle king.
4. On November 11, 2014, a “largest white truffle” was found in Alba in northwestern Italy. A buyer had already offered 1 million US dollars to buy it (about 6.15 million yuan). This white truffle would be auctioned, and the proceeds from the auction would be donated to charity. It is reported that this white truffle weighed 1.89 kilograms, and the discoverer was Sabatino, the world's largest white truffle supplier.