Japanese prefectures are competing to grow luxury strawberries that can command eye-wateringly high prices on the domestic market, reports the South China Morning Post.
Around 50 new premium strawberry varieties have been registered in Japan since 2011, bringing the total number of brands to 253 as of March 2015, reflecting mounting competition for top-quality product, it said.
One strawberry has been known to cost as much as 50,000 yen (US$420) in Japan, where people often buy them as gifts from department stores or speciality fruit retailers, the paper said.
Amaou strawberries from Fukuoka Prefecture in south-west Japan currently boast the highest average sales price per kilogramme of about 1,200 yen (US$10).
At Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district, Amaou strawberries last week (30 March) displayed price tags ranging from 1,620 to 5,400 yen (US$13.6-45.3) for a box of 10 to 12, the report said.
Newly-developed Skyberry strawberries from Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, meanwhile, were selling for 500 yen (US$4) apiece at the flagship store of fruits specialty retailer Takano Co in Tokyo's Shinjuku district.
Elsewhere, Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, has created novelty white strawberries with brand name Hatsukoi no Kaori 'Scent of First Love'. The colour on the surface and inside is white, but the seeds are red.
