Bigger is better - especially in strawberries, Japanese farmer says

Feb 12, 2009, 7:08 GMT

   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.