Someone Paid $5,000 For Two Persimmons at a Vegetable Market in Japan

Two high-end persimmons that were harvested from central Japan were recently sold during the season’s first auction for the whopping price of 540,000 yen (roughly U.S. $4,735).

These persimmons, which had been cultivated by the Gifu prefectural government for over 10 years through selective breeding, were sold on October 26 at a local market, according to the Japan Times.

The reason for the exorbitant price tag? The sugar quantity — a local agriculture cooperative explained that these persimmons are crispy contained at least an 18% sugar content, unlike others which only have a 16% sugar content.

“The weather was not very good this year, but farmers’ efforts made the persimmons very sweet,” an official said.

The Gifu prefectural government began selling these high-end persimmons last year, where a pair was auctioned for 324,000 yen (roughly U.S. $2,840).

Japanese Fruit — via Flickr / Stacy Spensley (CC BY-SA 2.0)

These deluxe persimmons, along with others from the same harvest featuring a sugar content greater than 25%, are now being sold at Matsuzakaya department store chain in Nagoya, Japan. At least 2,000 fruits are expected to be shipped to hungry customers starting early November.

Those who’d like to buy some delectable fruit for themselves, one can expect the price to start at 1,000 yen (U.S. $8) yen per piece, while the high-quality persimmons market price will start at 10,000 ($87) for a set of three, complete with a golden gift box.

Featured image via YouTube / CBC News

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