In France producers and traders estimate for the 2016/17 harvest the volume of French truffle production to represent 30 tonnes of Tuber melanosporum and 25 tonnes of Tuber aestivum var uncinatum and mesentericum. A half-tinted campaign (44.8 tons for 2015/16), which took place more favorably in irrigated truffles.
The federation of nursery/truffle tree producers and the regional federations of truffle growers estimated the professional plantations at 1,200 hectares for the year 2016.
FranceAgrimer just published a great document with lots of interesting data on truffle market, prices and volumes, exports and imports:
The truffle production during the last season was bad in Spain, in fact, there were no truffle at all on the wild in most regions, however, is the first season that I can remember – from the past 20 years that I´ve been working with truffles- that even being such a bad season, total quantities (wild + farms) harvested in Spain were higher than last year. This is because every year we have more and more plantations with irrigation. Prices were higher in average than other years so growers (who could water) were quite happy.
Prices paid at harvester (dirty and all qualities mixed) in the largest black truffle market (Teruel) has been between 400-750€/kg. In Catalonia every year more restaurants use truffles in their menus, this made that local truffle harvesters start selling their best truffles directly to local restaurants and leave the worst truffles to be sold at the weekend truffle market. This has lead to drop prices at local markets (due to low quality) and even some traders are not interested to drive to these markets to buy anymore, so some markets are disappearing. This is of course a pity as we loose a tradition but at the same time means that truffle consumption is growing in Spain and this is something to congratulate.
Cheers,
Marcos S. Morcillo
trufflefarming 