Pair of Japanese mangoes? Sold to the man with $3,400

TOKYO - A deep pocketed Japanese department store shelled out an eye-watering 300,000 yen (S$3,400) on 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 350g and have a high sugar content.

While S$3,400 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 S$4.

This year's must-have luxury fruit is a particular brand of strawberry, with a single berry currently selling for around S$570.

However, all pale in comparison with the tear-inducing S$34,000 price tag for a pair of cantaloupe melons auctioned in 2008.