Why Miyazaki Mangoes Are So Expensive | So Expensive Food | Business Insider

[Music] this pair of mangoes just sold for 500 000 yen that's almost four thousand dollars these are not just any mangoes they are taiyo no tamago or egg of the sun stunning plump red perfectly unscratched and incredibly sweet mangoes that are farmed in the miyazaki prefecture of japan every april the best mangoes from the prefecture are auctioned off at miyazaki central wholesale market but although farmers in miyazaki dedicate an entire year to preparing these mangoes for auction there's no guarantee that the fruit will fetch such a high price that's because before reaching the auctioning table a mango has to be perfect inside and out tai hain so difficult to grow and what makes them so expensive mangoes farmed in miyazaki are from the irwin mango variety a type often referred to as apple mango as it turns red when ripe erwin mangoes are actually pretty common and are also grown in other parts of the world and sold at much lower prices this is because the exclusivity of tayo no tamago is not tied to which type of mango it is but rather to the care it receives in order to generate buzz at the auction a mango needs bees to increase their odds of success farmers like takuya usually rent bees during the flowering season these are flowering mango plants these play a crucial role in the pollination of the plants as without them mangoes would not grow as big as desired machine [Music] if a plant keeps flowering as the farmer wants it can survive as long as 35 years takuya's plants are 20 years old however even if bees do pollinate the plants it doesn't necessarily mean that all mangoes will qualify as taiyo no tomago this season only those that are in good shape visibly contain pits and are in good position will be given a chance to successfully grow one everything in the greenhouse needs to run smoothly temperature must be constant the room ventilated the air dehumidified and the mangoes protected from gravity when everything else is in place takuya's priority becomes the sunshine again if a mango slumps into the shade takuya will tie it with a string to bring it back up and to make sure that sunlight touches every part of the fruit equally he developed these light reflectors out of milk cartons foreign regardless of how much it's worth takuya treats every mango with respect in return every mango repays him with a unique flavor amamito takuya has been growing mangoes for 16 years a craft he learned from his father this year he grew 9 500 mangoes in his greenhouse they're now ready to be inspected to see how many of them have earned the coveted taiyo no tomago title [Music] the first inspection is done by human eye inspectors closely analyze each mango's appearance to ensure they are red all throughout with no hints of green at the bottom then a machine sorts them according to sugar content weight and size [Music] these inspections sort the mangoes into five grades two of which are taiyo no tomato paste the mangoes will now make their way to miyazaki central wholesale market for the auction all the care and hard work that takuya and other farmers in the prefecture put into their fruit are leading up to this very moment the hope is to match or exceed the previous figure of 500 000 yen um [Music] the auction has officially begun at the miyazaki central wholesale market [Music] uh [Music] this year's 500 000 yen is 300 000 yen higher than last year and matches the 2019 record and the farmer who grew these mangoes is takuya [Laughter] it's the third year in a row his mangoes fetched the highest price at the auction they have been bought by a department store in fukuoka so now [Music] today's outcome was a successful one for takuya but even in a country with a strong gift-giving culture like japan it's not always guaranteed that such a luxury fruit will find a buyer at auction [Music] after flowering fruiting harvesting and auctioning takuya's mango plants are ready for a new season [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] me [Music] you

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Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, So Expensive Food, So Expensive, Miyazaki Mangoes, Expensive Food, Fruit

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Length: 10min 0sec (600 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 07 2022