Pair of mangoes fetches record-matching Y400,000 at season's 1st auction

Regardless... The Japanese market for these so called special fruits is simply ridiculous...

I think that the producers and the buyers have gone much too far... to a point of being nuts... beyond crazy...

Or they are just trying to raise the prices of the same products in the market... a sly marketing strategy...

If the buyers are tying to "impress" someone or get a reputation for themselves... just donate the money to charity... for a good cause...

Sorry... but I do not like no appreciate such deals...

It simply "ridicules" the buying public...

You know you have too much money if you are paying almost $2,000 for a mango

Hmmm... the box shows three on the cover. Perhaps you could ask for your money back?

From where I come from, you could buy a kilo of mangoes for less than 200 yen. This still won't beat the box-shaped watermelon though

Each to their own, but I would not pay more than ¥500 for a mango.

If the deputy gov. wants to promote it globally, the company might have to lower the price.

What? what? justifies a fruit costing more than half the populations monthly salary.

I wonder how many people that money could have fed (especially in Phillipine slums) Shamelfull!

Who would pay 400,00 for two mangoes? I suppose the only seller would as he would as in addition to two overpriced mangoes get most of the money back plus a lot of publicity.

But honestly, why do they have to be red? I always thought the best sweet mangoes were yellow. I suppose in Japan all fruit has to be colourful and sweet.

You know you have too much money if you are paying almost $2,000 for a mango

Consider that is it totally an advertising stunt. The buyers are going to get well over the amount paid for the mangoes in free advertising (here and other places) and it is going to raise brand awareness.

Have to give credit to the salesmanship that Miyzaki put into this "brand" Down here in Okinawa, Japan's largest producer of domestic mangoes, the growers always gnash their teeth every year when this auction goes off, because there are many that think that Okinawan grown mangoes taste better at a more "reasonable" price"

Remember too this is a department store that bought them, so it's not like they have "too" much money when it comes to the profit they are going to make from this stunt.

I wonder how many people that money could have fed (especially in Phillipine slums) Shamelfull!

I suppose you like wagyu and toro sashimi too right? It's hypocritical to complain about this, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, unless you happen to be Mahatma Ghandi or the "real" Dalai Lama !

@nandakandamanda

Hmmm... the box shows three on the cover. Perhaps you could ask for your money back?

Talk about grossly over priced! But as a promotional stunt it works well.

The pricey pair, cased in a container and weighing about 1 kilogram in total, will be sold at a department store in Fukuoka, the biggest city in the Kyushu region.

I am confused. Will the ¥400,000 mangos ultimately be sold for an even higher price?

Yubaru

You are right, a lot of people will get a little "cut" along the way.

The parallel I would draw to this, in my opinion, ridiculous inflation is English premier league football. I cannot understand how a player can be worth £75,000,000.

Supply, demand I guess. Some people somewhere are prepared to pay for their passionwhether it be football or fruit.

I also agree with Drama Larma. I would rather spend $2000 on something more wortwhile to humanity than buy a mango.

.

It’s ok. Mangoes aren’t going to go extinct.

In Thailand sweet, juicy mangoes in season go for 60 Bhat for 1 kilo. Less for in a province away from Bangkok.

In Thailand sweet, juicy mangoes in season go for 60 Bhat for 1 kilo. Less for in a province away from Bangkok.

That's expensive compared to these mangoes. The buyers spent $4,000 to get $80,000 worth of publicity, and the mangoes were thrown in free of charge.

70 million a year? Doubt it.

But honestly, why do they have to be red? I always thought the best sweet mangoes were yellow.

That’s not true.

https://www.mango.org/mango-varieties-availability/

I suppose in Japan all fruit has to be colourful and sweet.

Not all from, the Japanese also like sour fruit as well as visually appealing to their eye.

At least some Japanese have money....,

At least some Japanese have money....,

Remember it's a business.

I know there are many red mangoes. The Mexican ones in the supermarkets are red and green. However the yellow ones from Thailand are so much better. I buy mangoes from Thailand and the Philippines but avoid the Mexican ones as they don't taste as good. From local Thai shops I sometimes buy green mangoes which are not at all sweet. Japanese, which may really be around 2,000 yen in the shops, are overpriced.

I have never eaten ¥400000 mango, but eaten ¥3000 Kyushu mango. It was very delicious!

WHY?

canadianbento Because... ready? Something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Serrano: "Something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it."

Hogwash. You really saying you think a fake diamond is worth the value of a real one if someone is tricked into paying the same amount? No wonder you believe politicians whose words aren't worth a spit.

possessing a high level of sugar and having a bright red color covering more than half of its skin,

Will these people actually realize that sugar levels aren't the only thing that makes a mango tasty? They can be sweet, and yet absolutely devoid of taste or fragrance. I wouldn't even buy them for 400 yen. Give me the aromatic Indian, Pakistani or Thai mangoes any day (at overseas prices).

The rich are getting richer. That is why the cost of high end properties is soaring and someone has 400,000 yen in loose change to spend on a couple of mangos. That is the way the world is going.

I know the new year's tuna auction winner usally does it to promote their sushi restaurant but what does this one do for the winner. I paid less for my car and it is still running after 7 years.

Gokai_wo_maneku

There was a good program on TV in my native country recently, a young teenager from a wealthy family had to live with a low income family in social housing for a while.

The host lady said to the boy "the watch that you are waring is worth 6 months of my salary".

You are right, the world already has gone that way.

Here in Sao Paulo, Brazil, we have Palmer mango at R$ 3.35 per kg, so, it is around US$ 1.00 per kg or, 107 yen, something about 5,300 times cheaper than these Japanese mangoes ! For decades Brazil has been trying to export mangoes and other products to Japan, but, the Japanese government makes strongs efforts to create barriers. Of course, quality and food safety are very important. But, just think a little bit, if there are over 207,000,000 - yes, over 207 million of people in Brazil, eating all these products, for sure, there is enough food safety otherwise, we would have nobody living here. Hope that Japan people and authorities could make reasonable quality standards and improve international trade and so, Japanese would be able to taste delicious fresh mangoes from Brazil at fair, low prices !

Makoto Shimizu

$1.00 per kg. Now that's what I call real quality of life.

It was GM Mango.

@Makoto Shimizu

Here in Sao Paulo, Brazil, we have Palmer mango at R$ 3.35 per kg, so, it is around US$ 1.00

Also here in São Paulo we can find 1kg beans for around U$3,50; Meanwhile in Japan many Brazilians living there are paying close to $100 for the same 1kg... Because there's demand and low supply!

Particularly, I can eat good mangos for free, here there's plenty ^^

I'm with kazetsukai, while this may be a publicity stunt, it is still has negative implications. Why is something that grows on trees a luxury product? The trees these mangoes grew on will have been sprayed I guess at least eight times a year to ensure no insects could come anywhere near them and damage their appearance. The sweetest they have will be thanks to heavy use of chemical fertilizers. Is that what is important? Should fruit be so expensive that you can't give it to your kids as a snack? Even if these mangoes are special, where are the cheap ones we can have in our everyday diet?

where are the cheap ones we can have in our everyday diet?

Costco has Mexican ones, six in a pack, dunno the price cos my daughter bought them and gave them to me, but she said they weren't expensive. They're very tasty.

The little Philippine (Thai?) ones are around ¥100 each in the local supermarket.

We're fans of Costco but it's a long costly drive to get there.

Japanese people eat the least fruit among advanced countries. Fruit consumption per capita in Japan is also going down. It's bad for the country's health.

http://www.kudamono200.or.jp/number/answer_06.html

For 40man:  they got it to NHK, the local TV news, newspapers articles, your inbox and here in online news- That is not an expensive marketing strategy at all... ey, look we, the least concerned, are even talking about it :)

I think it's time I planted a Mango tree.

Serrano: "Something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it."

smith: "Hogwash. You really saying you think a fake diamond is worth the value of a real one if someone is tricked into paying the same amount?"

You're comparing apples and oranges, smith. Someone deceived into thinking a fake item is real is different from someone who simply thinks 2 mangos are worth 400,000 yen. The mangoes aren't fake. Get it?