Japanese High Grade Watermelon Sells for Over $3,500 USD
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Black-rind watermelons fetch 350,000 yen at season’s 1st auctions
Date: Jun 10, 2014
Source: Kyodo News
TOKYO – A black-rind watermelon grown in Hokkaido, northern Japan, fetched a winning bid of 350,000 yen ($3,500 USD) on Tuesday in the year’s first auction of the fruit at produce markets in Asahikawa and Sapporo.
The highest bid for one of roughly 240 Densuke watermelons, a signature product of the town of Toma, was 50,000 yen($500.00 USD) above last year’s top price.
The successful bidder at the Asahikawa market was Satoshi Ogino, a 47-year-old fruit and vegetable broker. “Providing little encouragement to the efforts of the farmers, I added 50,000 yen more to the winning price of last year,” he said.
A farmers’ cooperative in Toma said it plans to ship a combined 70,000 Densuke watermelons this year.
While the peak season of the fruit is in July, these are expected to retail for some 5,000 yen apiece.
The all-time highest winning bid for the fruit is 650,000 yen ($6500 USD), fetched in 2008.
