A deep pocketed Japanese department store shelled out an eye-watering 300,000 yen ($2,500) Monday for a pair of mangoes, a record price for the second year in a row. After the hammer fell at an auction in far-southern Miyazaki, the successful bidder airlifted the fruit to its luxury shop in Fukuoka, where they went on sale at a bargain 210,000 yen, according to the Miyazaki Agricultural Economic Federation.
The mangoes - top-of-the-range "Taiyo no Tamago" (Egg of the Sun)-brand - were the first to go for auction this year, an occasion that usually attracts inflated prices.
To qualify as a "Taiyo no Tamago" mango, each fruit must weigh at least 350 grams (12 oz) and have a high sugar content. While $2,500 is steep for a pair of mangoes, fruit is routinely expensive in Japan and it is not unusual for a single apple to cost upwards of $3.
This year's must-have luxury fruit is a particular brand of strawberry, with a single berry currently selling for around $415.
However, all pale in comparison with the tear-inducing $25,000 price tag for a pair of cantaloupe melons auctioned in 2008.
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