date:Nov 15, 2013
Italians fearful of copycat Chinese imports killing off demand for their prized homegrown delicacies have added another culinary touchstone to the danger list: the chestnut.
As cheaper Chinese chestnuts flood the market, Italian harvests have plunged by 70% since 2005 to 18,000 tonnes this year due to the arrival from China of a deadly wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus, that damages trees by laying eggs in them. It means that in 2013, chestnut imports are due to exceed domestic production for the fir