Truffles are a growing sector in Northland and across the country, with the prized fungi worth up to $2500 a kg.
The region’s truffieres have been busy harvesting leading into today’s inaugural National NZ Truffle Day. The New Zealand Truffle Association plans to make the celebration an annual event held on the first Saturday of July.
Truffles are a sought-after edible fungus that develops underground alongside the roots of trees such as oak, hazel and beech. Valued by chefs for their distinctive aroma and flavour, only a small number of the more than 100 known truffle species are harvested commercially.
In Whangārei, truffiere Steve Karl searches for the valuable truffles on his Maungatapere property with the help of his spaniel Sally, an expert truffle hunter.
New Zealand has about 400 truffieres, including a handful in Northland, but the industry is expanding, gaining momentum as a high-value niche within New Zealand’s primary industries, according to association president Dave Whalley.
Recent large-scale investment, including a reported $10 million development in Canterbury, signals growing confidence and is helping build capability, scale and international credibility.
Whalley said the opportunity for the sector is clear.
“We’re seeing strong global demand in markets willing to pay for premium New Zealand–grown goods, with interest from Canada, Asia, Europe and the USA for truffles in the hundreds of kilograms."
Whalley said exports were expected to drive the industry’s biggest growth in the years ahead, while demand within New Zealand continued to strengthen.
“In New Zealand, top-grade black truffles can fetch up to $2500 per kilogram, but average about $1000 a kilogram across the grades, reflecting the time, care and patience required to grow them, with further room to grow as more New Zealanders discover fresh truffle.“
Whalley said growing production volumes and consistently high quality gave the industry confidence in its ability to compete internationally.
For Hato Hone St John paramedic Karl, truffles are almost a sideline hobby after becoming interested about 16 years ago.
He bought the Maungatapere lifestyle block to convert part of it for truffles, first getting the soil right, with his first crop three or four years ago.
He said truffles could be grown on land that was not necessarily prime farmland, but success depended on maintaining a higher soil pH than is typically required for conventional farming.
“We added about 10 tonnes of lime to get the pH up. And it needs regular lime added to keep up the pH levels, or you won’t get any truffles.”
He planted 1ha of the property in oak and hazelnut trees – the best for truffles – which have truffle spores in the roots.
After several years, he began harvesting truffles with the help of Sally, his spaniel, whose keen sense of smell allows her to locate them underground. When she detects a truffle, she lies down and points her nose at the spot, which Karl marks before returning later to carefully dig it up.
Most of his truffles go to a Northland restaurateur, so he has no problems finding a market.
Karl said the growing global interest in New Zealand truffles was good news for the sector.
His advice for anybody looking to get into truffles is simple – do your homework, don’t expect to get rich quick as it can take several years from planting the trees to harvesting the fungi beneath, and get plenty of truffle spore.
“And don’t go in with too high an expectation.”
