The White Truffle season of search and collection stops on December 31 in Tuscany while in Piedmont it will continue until 31 January. The statements below are made to ANSA by the Sienese Truffle hunters Association president, Paolo Valdambrini, to take stock of the 2019 season:
“It has been a difficult year for climate change, however, the well-managed territory of the Crete sienese has endured these adversity and the alternation of torrential rains to dry days. Production stands at average, quality held and prices remained on standard price lists, 1,500-1,600 euros but also less. So in the end the consumer didn’t pay the crazy-climate bill.”
read the rest of the article on ansa.it
The proposal to extend the season until January 31st was also done here in Tuscany but our history, our statute and our consciousness as truffle hunters requires us to imprint our actions by bearing always in mind the truffle-growing areas protection of our province. We are convinced that leaving those few truffles that remained and the others that might grown in the next month, would be profitable for the ground since they would be able to release their spores and revitalizing the reproductive process, looking forward to better seasons in the future.
On the contrary, continuing to collect them would be, on one hand, little things compared to the white truffle economy, on the other, a probable sentencing to an upcoming season of low production.
These proposals come from the same environments that would like to see the end of the reserved collection areas and extend the harvesting periods, moved by the interest of “take today and take tomorrow”, until completely exhausting the truffle areas. This is how the truffle ends. Proposals that have no interest in safeguarding and protecting the truffle and its habitat.