Japanese strawberries - one of the most expensive fruits in the world , are of top quality thanks to the extremely strict growing and care process. Therefore, in an auction in the Land of the Rising Sun, Bijin-Hime strawberries (princess strawberries) with a sweetness of up to 13 degrees Brix were sold for about 8 million VND/fruit weighing 100 grams. That means 1 kg of these strawberries costs up to 80 million VND.

Along with the expensive price, Bijin-Hime strawberries have a special flavor reminiscent of roses, so they are sought after by the rich.

In the Vietnamese market, red princess and snow white strawberries have appeared on the shelves of many imported fruit stores. However, the target customer segment is the rich because this strawberry, considered as the “red diamond” of Japan, is extremely expensive, up to 3-4 million VND/kg.

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Princess strawberries - a type of strawberry in Japan that was once auctioned for 8 million VND/fruit, are now widely sold in the domestic market. Photo: NVCC

At the high-end food store of Ms. Cao Thi My in Tay Ho ( Hanoi ), after checking the remaining quantity of goods that could be delivered on March 7, her staff immediately posted on the fanpage announcing "4 million VND/kg fan-shaped strawberries are temporarily out of stock".

Today, the store only accepts orders for princess strawberries priced at 3.5 million VND/kg and snow white strawberries priced at 3.8 million VND/kg. Early March 8, a new shipment arrives, customers can order all kinds of Japanese strawberries.

“The price of Japanese strawberries is about 5 times higher than Korean strawberries, and about 20 times higher than the price of Son La ’s most VIP strawberries. However, this imported fruit from Japan is still a hot item, chosen by many people as a gift on March 8,” said Ms. My.

She explained that this is the peak season for strawberries in Japan, so there are many imported products, so the price has dropped sharply compared to the 6-7 million VND/kg before Tet. This price is less "painful to the wallet", so on March 8, customers are rushing to buy. In the past 3 days, the demand for gifts on March 8 has skyrocketed, causing strawberries to be "out of stock" continuously.

Ms. Cao Thi Nhung, an employee who closes orders at an imported fruit store in Hoan Kiem (Hanoi), said that the store has been selling imported strawberries from Japan for 8 years.

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1kg of Japanese strawberries costs nearly 4 million VND/kg. Photo: NVCC

Compared to the imported fruit market, Japanese strawberries are in the highest-end segment. Therefore, this fruit is usually very picky about buyers and most stores import it to serve only a small group of loyal customers.

The price of Japanese strawberries can reach up to nearly 4 million VND/kg. For example, giant fan-shaped strawberries, 1kg costs 3.9 million VND for only 8 fruits, equivalent to nearly 490,000 VND/fruit. However, on holidays like March 8, not only regular customers, many people also want to buy luxurious fruits as gifts.

Japanese strawberries are selected individually, with uniform quality, sweet and fragrant. In particular, each strawberry is carefully wrapped in white foam and then packed in a very luxurious box. Therefore, strawberries are often chosen by wealthy customers as gifts for March 8.

This is also the reason why, despite the extremely expensive price of Japanese strawberries, she still consults and closes hundreds of orders every day. Some people place orders worth up to nearly 40 million VND, Ms. Nhung revealed.

Some fruit stores also said that Japanese strawberries sold in Vietnam are known to consumers as princess strawberries, chestnut strawberries, and snow white strawberries. These are the three most popular and also the most expensive strawberry varieties.

On this March 8th, some stores continuously reported selling out of Princess and Snow White strawberries due to a sudden increase in customers.

'Racing' with cherries, Son La strawberry specialties have turned the market red with unprecedented price reductions . Not only Chilean cherries, these days Son La strawberry specialties are also racing to reduce their prices to "crash the floor" by turning the online market red. But the price reduction trend is expected to continue.