A pair of Yubari melons, cultivated in Hokkaido, were sold for 3 million yen (€17,620) at the inaugural auction of the season in Sapporo. Conducted at the Sapporo City Central Wholesale Market starting from 7 a.m., the auction saw Hokuyupack Co, a firm specializing in melon packaging and sales based in Yubari, emerging as the buyer.
Kiyomichi Noda, the president of Hokuyupack, expressed his desire to invigorate Yubari and wished for the melons' sweetness to be recognized nationwide. He announced that the first 200 visitors to the company's premises on June 1st and 2nd would receive Yubari melons free of charge.
The Yubari City Agricultural Cooperative has forecasted that 89 melon cultivators will dispatch approximately 3,219 tons of melons this year, anticipating revenues to reach about 1.92 billion yen. The record for the highest bid for a pair of Yubari melons stands at 5 million yen, achieved in 2019.
Source: japantoday.com