White truffle prices collapsed as the wealthy pare back on luxuries amid the global economic crisis.
An 850g white truffle from northern Italy sold for 24,000 euros (US$31,000) at the 10th Annual World Alba White Truffle Auction in Tokyo on Sunday night. By weight, that was 84 percent less than the US$330,000 Macau casino billionaire Stanley Ho (何鴻燊) paid for a 1.5kg truffle last year.
The auction, held simultaneously in Tokyo and the Italian towns of Grinzane Cavour and Merano, raised a combined 118,000 euros for various charities, including the United Way and victims of the September bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. A similar charity auction last year raised US$453,000.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
“The financial crisis has definitely had an impact,” Bruno Libralon, president of Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners, arranger of the three auctions, said in an interview in Tokyo. “It’s sad because it means less money going for charities.”
The winning bidder, Kazumasa Terada, founder and president of handbag retailer Samantha Thavasa Japan Ltd, said he would have a chef prepare half the truffle for a private dinner and give the other half to the Ritz-Carlton hotel, the auction’s Tokyo venue.
“It’s my first time to buy a truffle,” Terada, 42, said in an interview. “I’ll have a party for my friends.”
Terada’s 65 percent stake in Samantha Terada is worth about ¥5 billion (US$50.5 million). The value of his holdings has dropped about 69 percent this year.
White truffles are aromatic and grated over dishes raw, unlike black truffles, which are generally cooked to bring out the full flavor.
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