A lot of around 850 grammes of white truffles was sold for €75,000 ($87,500) in a top Italian auction on Sunday. The buyer, from Hong Kong, placed their winning bid via satellite at the World Alba White Truffles Auction at the Grinzane Cavour castle in Piedmont, northwestern Italy.
Isabelle Gianicolo of the National Truffle Study Centre noted that the auction price was "symbolic" and did not necessarily reflect the true market price, since the proceeds were donated to charitable causes. Nevertheless, dry conditions this year had sent the market price soaring to €6,000 per kilogramme from €3,000-4,000 last year, she told AFP.
