SA imports first-ever black truffle spore

KwaZulu-Natal-based Truffles of Africa is the first South African company to have imported the spore of the black truffle (Tuber melanosporum).

The spore will be used to inoculate 10 000 oak trees for truffle production in South Africa.
The 10kg consignment of spore worth R70 000 was imported from the truffle heartland of France and arrived in Pietermaritzburg early last month.

The black truffle is a gourmet food that ranks alongside caviar and saffron in price, rarity and mystique and fetches producer prices of R6 000/kg to R7 000/kg.

A well-managed truffle plantation can be expected to produce annual yields of 30kg of truffles per hectare after 10 years and continue to produce for another 40 years. – Staff reporter SA