Tokyo - A Japanese farmer has succeeded in breeding giant
strawberries with a price tag of up to 50,000 yen (560 dollars)
apiece, media reports said Thursday.
The newly harvested fruit measure about 8.5 centimetres in length
and weigh more than 80 grams, compared to the standard strawberry
what weighs about 28 grams.
Mikio Okuda, 55, tried to exceed the top size of the berry, which
can reach 75 grams, and succeeded in breeding strawberries that weigh
up to 91 grams, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said. Okuda has been
growing strawberries for more than 31 years.
The farmer was also able to maintain sufficient colour, shine and
shape for his mega-berries.
But the fructose content, which makes fruit sweet, does not
multiply with the size increase, making the oversize strawberries
less sweet than their smaller cousins, the Japanese daily said.
As the bigger berries do not take up a larger space of land, the
new breed can bring in three times as much profit with its price tag,
which is more than 100 times the price of an average package of
strawberries in Japan, Okuda said.
He plans to introduce the giant berries in a package of four or
five sometime between January and March next year, targeting affluent
customers, the Mainichi said.
Japan is known for expensive fruits and vegetables that come in
perfectly uniform colours, sizes and shapes, and are often willing to
pay higher prices for products that meet those criteria.
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