Top tuna sells for under $56,000 in Japan

Top tuna sells for under $56,000 in Japan

The highest price for a bluefin tuna at this year's first auction at Tokyo's Tsukiji Market on Monday fell below 5 million yen (S$56,000) for the first time in eight years, coming in at 4.51 million yen for a 180kg tuna caught off Oma, Aomori Prefecture.

Kiyomura, operator of the Sushizanmai restaurant chain in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, won the bid for the tuna.

The price works out to about 25,000 yen per kg.

The company said it will serve the tuna at prices ranging from 128 yen for akami (red-flesh tuna) to 398 yen for otoro, the parts with the most fat, at its Sushizanmai restaurant.

Since 2009, the annual bluefin auction at Tsukiji Market has been extremely competitive among buyers.

In 2013, a 222kg bluefin tuna went for a record 155.4 million yen.

Last year's most expensive bluefin tuna weighed in at 230kg and was auctioned for 7.36 million yen.

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