Oct 27 (Japan Today) - A pair of high-end persimmons harvested in central Japan fetched 540,000 yen at the season's first auction at a local wholesale market on Thursday.
The cultivar, developed by the Gifu prefectural government over 10 years and put on the market last year, is crispy and has a sugar content of at least 18 percent compared to the around 16 percent of other products, according to a local agricultural cooperative.
Last year, a pair of the premium persimmons were sold for 324,000 yen.
These top quality products, including a persimmon from the same harvest with a sugar content of more than 25%, are being sold at a branch of Matsuzakaya department store in Nagoya. A total of 2,000 of the persimmons are expected to be shipped by early November, with the retail price starting from 1,000 yen per piece.
High-end persimmons priced at more than 10,000 yen for a set of three will be sold in golden gift boxes.
