Climate change threatens French truffle

By Jessica Mead

PARIS (Reuters) - The black truffle, one of the most exclusive and expensive delicacies on the planet, is under threat from climate change.

A mysterious species of underground fungi with reported aphrodisiac and therapeutic properties, the aromatic truffles are also highly fragile and cannot withstand more than three weeks without water.

But prolonged drought in many of their prime growing regions in Europe and predictions about global warming suggest the future is about as black as the truffles themselves, to the despair of the growers.

"The bad harvest years, which used to be the exception, are becoming the norm," Jean-Charles Savignac, President of the Federation Francaise des Trufficulteurs (FFT), told Reuters.

The three main producers -- France, Italy and Spain -- provide about 100 tonnes of the gastronomic luxury per year. In the 19th century it was an estimated 1,000-1,600 tonnes.

In France, this winter's harvest yielded just over 20 tonnes of the high quality black truffle, half what had been expected.

Meteo France forecasts that by the end of the century Toulouse, on the southern fringes of France's truffle growing region, will see temperatures exceed 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) on average between 25 and 55 days a year. Today, it registers such heat on average 4 days a year.

The shortage of supply coupled with rising demand has seen prices soar. A kilo of black truffles can fetch as much as 1,000 euros ($1,548), three times the cost at the end of the 1990s.