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only
in japan welcome to miyazaki
this prefecture is very famous for what
surrounds us right now
mangoes lots and lots of mangoes we're
going to be going to the mango auction a
minute
but i came here to find out what makes
these mangoes so special
that last year at the auction one sold
for 400
000 yen or about four thousand dollars
you see them in the supermarkets in
tokyo often selling for as much as a
hundred two hundred dollars for one
so what makes the miyazaki mango so
special
first let's go to the auction every
april miyazaki holds a mango auction in
the city produce wholesale market
the prefecture's best mangoes make their
way here selected by experts based on
size
sweetness on the brick scale shape and
color
media from all over the country came to
report on this because without a doubt
there's sure to be a mango that sells
for thousands of dollars just like last
year
making it the most expensive mango in
the world miyazaki's taiyo no tamago
or egg of the sun brand is a luxury
fruit and we're going to find out why
this mango fetches such a high price
the answer may surprise you from 2l to
5l
size meaning they were big it's hard to
predict which mango will go for the
highest price but everyone had guesses
so here in miyazaki the mango auction is
kind of a big deal you can see on the
table here
there's about 32 34 mangoes so they've
taken the best of the best and that's
what's here on the table
the taste is indisputably good mangle
girls walked around the warehouse
handing out samples
kanai and i spied a plate of them being
made famous by national tv crews
when you see them on offer you gotta try
one or two
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excellent color juicy
and amazingly sweet smelly
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and the taste is perfect too
but how do you grow a thousand dollar
mango
we travel to a mango farm just outside
miyazaki's city center
you can see the greenhouses down there
it's a peaceful place surrounded by
nature
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i visited in january when the mangoes
first started to grow
mangoes here are grown in vinyl
greenhouses where temperatures and
conditions are highly controlled
there are dozens of cultivars of mangoes
each one here is grown to meet the
japanese tastes
look how small this mango is
the ones that grow biggest and look
healthiest will become a focus for the
farmer
not all these baby mangoes will make it
to the fruit shops
to produce bigger and tastier mangos
farmers clip away about 80 percent of
the mangoes from each tree
it seems like a waste but it's how
nature focuses all its magic into a
prized fruit
mangoes not selected or clipped and fall
to the ground sacrificed to make one
mango bigger and juicier
because they will get big the mango is
supported with a clip
and string attached to the roof
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they look so small and in a few months
they'll be ready to be picked and sold
i returned in april for the harvest to
see how these baby mangoes have grown
the same greenhouse looked very
different
those baby mangoes were now mature big
and red
almost like holiday ornaments hanging
from the roof
despite cutting away so many of them
three months ago
there were still a lot of mangoes here
about five thousand of them in this
greenhouse
protected with a net and tray
they're picked with a lot of care the
color and smell
a good indication of when to harvest
them
after being picked the mangoes are
prepared and packaged for sale
the best and beautiful boxes like
treasure
not all mangoes grow the same this
little guy is special but won't fetch
the same price
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it's still treated with the same respect
though
like a pro
there's the whey that looks like a
pineapple and then there's the miyazaki
way
cut the mango down the side two
millimeters from the stem
slice it evenly into four pieces cut the
mango about a third
inside the skin
slice the skin diagonally from the
center top to the side
roll the skin in and the sliced part
should stick out
this is a great way to show off the skin
color the fruit and make it easy to pick
up to eat
any way you cut it it still tastes super
good
i asked onitsuka-san about the process
of growing and what makes miyazaki mango
so special
tonight
is
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foreign
um
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[Laughter]
back to the auction now you know those
smiles are the product of a lot of hard
work
the auction's about to start
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each selected mango farm is written on
the board held up for everyone to see
and what's being bid on
many of the bidders here represent fruit
and department stores around the country
all who want the best of the best to
sell to their customers
there was a second auction in another
area of the market that was just
as exciting and fast pace
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for sure we'd see the highest priced
mango here
then it happened
someone bid 500 000 yen nearly 5 000
dollars
at the end there was a chance to ask
what's on everyone's mind
why according to tatemoto-san who made
the bid
the high price paid is motivation for
the farmers and a way to show respect
for the hard work and passion they have
for growing mangoes in miyazaki
the pair of mangoes were also quite big
beautifully shaped and sweet
this brand of mango is the rolls royce
or kobe beef of mangoes
it's called taio no tamago only the best
qualified for this designation
it must be over 350 grams over 15
degrees of bricks and sweetness
which is quite sweet more than 50
percent of the skin must be red
after the auction we received a gift
from tatemotosan
the world's most expensive mango is on
display in the store
along with other taiyo no tamago mango
sets seeing the price tag makes many
customers stop and stare
wondering what it would be like to taste
it on this day it would cost four
thousand eight hundred and twenty four
dollars and ninety cents to purchase one
to find out
but we had our own set to unbox
they're magnificent the sweet mango
smell unleashed into the room every time
the box is opened
it has a spectacular color and feel
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and the cut nice
juicy
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but why did somebody pay thousands of
dollars for a set
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the purpose of the mango auction is more
than just buying a mango
it energizes the industry and brings the
community together
a great deal of respect is paid from the
farmer to the buyer
to the store where it's sold it makes
eating one a special experience
granted you pay a lot for that pleasure
but now you know where it comes from
hard work experience and a pursuit for
perfection
buying one should be special they're
most often purchased as gifts priced
high because of the quality and rarity
that taiyo no tamago for mangoes the
best of the best
sometimes you give them away but
receiving one
or three makes you feel as warm as the
beautiful miyazaki sun
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