Apple farmers in Japan’s Aomuri Prefecture have been dumping damaged apples in a government project to dispose of old stocks.
Frost and hail last year caused ¥10.32bn worth of damage, and the affected apples have been stored since then while farmers try to sell them for juicing.
The juicing market has not been profitable, reported the Yomiuri Shimbun, and many of the apples have been rotting since mid-March.
The Aomori government has been collecting unwanted apples from farmers since Saturday, and expects about 615 tonnes in total, at a disposal cost of ¥4.4m.
