Record price fetched for bunch of premium grapes at auction in central Japan

Jul 15 (NHK) - A bunch of premium grapes has fetched a record price of 1.5 million yen, or more than 10,000 dollars, at the year's first auction in central Japan.

The "Ruby Roman" grapes were auctioned on Friday at a wholesale market in Ishikawa Prefecture's Kanazawa City.

The high-end grapes were developed in the prefecture and first hit the market in 2008. The variety can only be sold, if strict criteria are met. The size of each grape must be at least 3.1 centimeters in diameter. The sugar contents of each cluster must be 18 percent or higher.

A total of 187 bunches went under the hammer. Farmers from all across the prefecture sent them.

The highest bid was made for a cluster of 27 grapes that weighed 800 grams. The price was about 700 dollars more than the previous record set last year.

Source: 北陸朝日放送公式チャンネル

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