The La Bonnotte variety of potato is grown on the French island of Noirmoutier and is the most expensive type of potato in the world. Having reached heights of around US$600 per kilo, La Bonnotte potatoes are harvested three months after planting and picked before they reach maturity. Selling at auction in 1996, they reached US$1,201 per kilo.
Only 100 of the 10,000 tons of potatoes harvested on the island are La Bonnotte - a major element contributing to the spud’s eye-watering prices.
Then there’s the fact that these potatoes need to picked one by one and manually, as the potato is so delicate. It means that during the potato’s seven-day harvest season, around 2,500 pickets are set to work. Also, the sale of the potatoes is only 10 days’ long.
The potatoes are especially delicious because of the sandy soil in which they are grown, the director of the potato cooperative, Nicolas Paille stated. That’s compounded by the seaweed placed in the oil to encourage the potatoes to grow: “It’s an artisanal job; the producers are proud to do it, and that’s what makes it so valuable.”
Source: au.finance.yahoo.com