Le Figaro Nice
To discover
Follow all the news of the city of Nice
After the lemons from Menton and the olives from Nice, it is the turn of the coveted black truffles to pay for the drought of the last ten months at harvest time.
Disappointed but not demoralized for all that, the president of the union of truffle growers of the Alpes-Maritimes, Michel Santinelli, evokes with Le
Figaro
a drop in production
"by 70%"
compared to last year.
“This morning I again picked up a kilo of mushrooms in the field, which is pretty decent, but overall we have to admit that we are having a drop this year”
, he regrets.
"
To make a drop
", a local expression for "
white cabbage
".
The scarcity of the black diamond under the truffle oaks, however, goes beyond the borders of the department, the trade unionist would like to point out:
“It is 90% true for all of France”,
he insists
.
In question, the repeated episodes of strong heat which followed one another in the four corners of the territory - particularly in the southern regions - from last spring.
“It's not as if we had an agronomic problem linked to malnutrition, for example.
We are just taking the brunt of the climate movements.
However, we watered the soil all summer, during the truffle growth period, but that was not enough”
, he continues.
Read alsoDrought: part of Menton lemon production risks losing its IGP label
The department and the region have been helping truffle growers financially for several years.
This does not mean that they will do more this year.
"We get it, it's completely normal.
Truffle growing is an activity of enthusiasts, it is something that has remained very peasant.
But it's not our livelihood, just a supplement
, ”retorts the president of these same enthusiasts in the department.
Read alsoDrought: the Nice olive harvest disrupted
It is ultimately for gourmets that the poor harvest is likely to cost the most.
And for good reason, the drop in production
ultimately
leads to a rise in prices.
According to Michel Santinelli, truffles are trading this year at 1200 per kilo on average, when the latter was around 800 euros last year.
"
For a good dish, you need between 10 and 15 grams of truffles, it's still quite affordable
," he adds.
