Pair of Japanese mangoes fetch $3,700 at auction

TOKYO - A pair of mangoes grown in southern Japan sold Thursday for a whopping 300,000 yen ($3,700), a record price for the fruit's first auction of the season, Kyodo News reported.

The "Taiyo no Tamago" (Egg of the Sun)-brand mangoes were set to be airlifted from Miyazaki in the far south of the country to a department store in Fukuoka, where they were to go on sale, the agency said.

To qualify as a "Taiyo no Tamago" mango, each fruit must weigh at least 350 grammes (12 oz) and have a high sugar content, according to the Miyazaki Agricultural Economic Federation.

Fruit is routinely expensive in Japan and it is not unusual for a single apple to cost upwards of US$3, while a presentation pack of 20 cherries can set you back US$100.

However, all pale in comparison with the eye-watering US$25,000 price tag for a pair of cantaloupe melons auctioned in 2008.