Two premium mangoes sold in Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture yesterday for a grand total of ¥500,000, around US$4,500, Japan Today reported.
The mangoes, named “Taiyo no Tamago”, which translates to ‘egg of the sun’ are actually the Irwin cultivar, but fetch surprisingly high prices in Japan’s luxury fruit market.
Atlas Obscura reported on a normal day Taiyo no Tamago mangoes will sell for upwards of US$50. The reason for the high price tag being the care taken when growing the fruit.
The mangoes sold at auction met certain requirements, according to the Miyazaki Agricultural Economic Federation, weighing at least 350g each, with a high sugar content and at least 50 per cent of their skin covered in the signature red hue.
This year’s result topped the record high of ¥400,000 (US$3,600). This year’s winners were a local produce wholesale company who will sell the mangoes at a department store in Fukuoka, the largest city within the Kyushu region located in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Shota Tatemoto, an employee from the wholesale company said the record sale price will give a lift to the growers of the mangoes.
