Bunch of grapes fetches ¥1.4 mil, hitting record for 3rd straight year

> "I want to introduce Ruby Roman to the people of Taiwan. When you think about the (grape) producers' year of hard work, 1.4 million yen is cheap," Hsieh, 66, said.

I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting a bunch of grapes before-a Taiwanese custom I imagine…

Forget about the grapes, I can't even bring myself to buy the peaches here. Have they gone up in price? I wait until I see some on special offer, like ones which are getting a bit too ripe. 300 yen for one single peach is ridiculous enough. Don't get me started on the mangoes.

Premium fruits and other luxury foods tend to fetch very high prices at first auctions in Japan, with buyers often using successful bids for promotional purposes.

With these types of events, yes that is the stated purpose.

The result is nutritious, fresh food being priced out of the range of a large proportion of working Japanese.

We deal with this nonsense in Miyazaki. 7,000 yen for a single Miyazaki mago when Thai mago are 700 yen. 3,000 yen for a sparse bunch of Tsuno grapes, when a bunch of Shizuoka grapes are 800 yen. 2,000 yen for a single Miyazaki chicken breast, 400 yen for a single Kagoshima chicken breast.

It staggers my mind how these things are priced when the Miyazaki magos are smaller and have a thicker skin. Tsuno grapes are tart and a off putting greenish/blue skin. Miyazkai chicken is a sickly white hue.

Fleecing the locals to guilt them into supporting "the home team".

Idiot. I won't even spend 1,000 yen for grapes in Japan. They're overpriced enough as they are.

Like a $1.5m tuna, this kind of misguided nationalistic-pride always exerts an overly-inflated price on Japan’s people. - Was nothing learned in the last 70+ years? Particularly, the years leading up to this summer’s BIG event?

It is not the farmer who makes a better living from these auctions. It is the corporate that makes the profit. It also increases the regular market price, which makes it almost unaffordable for the general public.

A fool and their money….

Just saying, but some fruit is better for you than others. Grapes are actually quite low in fiber and are high in fructose, the fattening form of sugar. Bananas are healthier.

The fiber/fructose thing really matters with fruit juice, which is nowhere near as healthy as claimed, even 100% juice.

Just saying, but some fruit is better for you than others. Grapes are actually quite low in fiber and are high in fructose, the fattening form of sugar.

Exactly. And most fruit is engineered in a lab to be much larger and sweeter than it should be. And people are duped into thinking it's good for them! I wouldn't touch a Ruby Roman with a barge pole.

It's like that kid who gets praised and rewarded for being a "participant" - we're telling them (farmers) and their efforts are much much much more special than what their actual value is.

I can't justify the difference between a 300 yen grapes and a 1,400,000 grapes. Most of the resources in growing them are free - water, soil and sun. Unless you mix gold or diamond in the soil which somehow gets absorbed by the fruit.

More Japanese marketing to sell their own people on paying overly inflated prices for relatively common food staples within the ideals(propaganda) that government subsidized & controlled products are the best choices for them.

Missed the decimal point when I glanced at the headline. Wasn’t any more impressed.

Could have been 140 million for all it matters. Stupid, silly money is stupid, silly money.

Meh….

We deal with this nonsense in Miyazaki. 7,000 yen for a single Miyazaki mago when Thai mago are 700 yen. 3,000 yen for a sparse bunch of Tsuno grapes, when a bunch of Shizuoka grapes are 800 yen. 2,000 yen for a single Miyazaki chicken breast, 400 yen for a single Kagoshima chicken breast.

Yubari melon is missing from your list.

I hope the ruby roman tasted nice

Agricultural products in Japan in general are extortionly expensive compared to other countries. Thank you, Japan, for caring about the elderly farmers more than the average man!

Nothing is new, I had them since its first released.

I gave up on overpriced fruit years ago.

Wine, not whining, is a better further and investment for grapes in Japan.

Right?, **@TARA TAN KITAOKA 9:31am**

“Nothing is new, I had them since its first released.” -

Good to see reasonable priorities in purchasing are prevailing.

They should hire Matt Damon as spokesman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZdZxK581yE

We deal with this nonsense in Miyazaki. 7,000 yen for a single Miyazaki mago when Thai mago are 700 yen. 3,000 yen for a sparse bunch of Tsuno grapes, when a bunch of Shizuoka grapes are 800 yen. 2,000 yen for a single Miyazaki chicken breast, 400 yen for a single Kagoshima chicken breast.

You're being ripped off. No way should Thai mangoes be anywhere near 700 yen.

1.4mil ? For a bottle of wine! i will say yes. But a grapes? NEVER

Everyones commenting how ridiculous it is. Meanwhile I'm reading this and wondering if I should move to Japan and become a farmer who deals in "premium produce".

So someone can spend a million yen on grapes. That tell you about the increasing inequality of income distribution and why young people are increasingly interested in socialism.

Lot of sour grapes here.

One complaint about farmer subsidies, one suggestion that this is why some people think socialism interesting.

Subsidies for farming is a form of socialism, it’s poor tax payers handing over money to favored special interest groups.

I don’t know if these grape growers are receiving subsidies, but if they aren’t and can fetch a high price on their initial sale, that’s fine with me.

So someone can spend a million yen on grapes. That tell you about the increasing inequality of income distribution and why young people are increasingly interested in socialism.

If a company spent a million yen on national cross-platform advertising the reaction would be - 'Only a million? That won't stretch far'.

That's what these auctions are essentially for.

So someone can spend a million yen on grapes. That tell you about the increasing inequality of income distribution and why young people are increasingly interested in socialism.

Umm, its a publicity exercise for the restaurant in Taiwan. Possibly good advertising.

You really think that this over-inflated auction price is now proof that "young people" cant afford grapes now? LOL.

Grapes are sour.

Why not ! Little bit of showing off won't hurt anyone !