The Miyazaki mango is the king of premium fruits and sells at an astonishing price of up to Rs. 3,00,000 per kg. Also called the ‘Egg of the Sun’ due to its bright ruby red color, this Japanese delicacy has caught the attention of the global market and is now being cultivated in India.
The Miyazaki mango, as the name suggests, was first grown in the Miyazaki Prefecture of Japan which is in the southeastern coast of Kyushu Island. This type of fruit was first developed in the middle of the 20th century through the process of selection and improvement to produce a high quality fruit that can survive in the Japanese climate. The Japanese have enhanced the farming of these mangoes through such methods as hand pollination and individual fruit wrapping to shield each mango from pests and other forms of damage.
What makes the Miyazaki mango different from other mangoes is the look and the quality of the fruit. Miyazaki mangoes have a dark red royal purple skin when they are ripe; the skin is not yellow or green like that of other mangoes. This eye-catching color earned them the nickname “Egg of the Sun”. The size of the fruit is also fairly big and the fruit is between 350-550 grams in size. The flavor is very intense and the brix (sugar content) is above 15% which is quite high when it comes to other mangoes. The texture is also very smooth and it is flesh free. Miyazaki mangoes are also famous for their strong fragrance that adds to the overall taste.
But why are these mangoes so expensive? Their farming technique is extremely rigorous. Each and every fruit is touched and looked after from the time it is planted until it is fully ripened. To increase the yield, the trees are pollinated by hand, each mango is covered individually to avoid pests and other forms of damage and all the fruits are inspected and classified. The growing of Miyazaki mangoes is very restricted due to the very specific conditions that are necessary for the development of the fruit, restricted space, and numerous standards that lead to the placement of many fruits.
The rarity and the popularity of Miyazaki mangoes have created a great demand for them even in India. You can now find them in India in Nalanda in Bihar. Farmer Surendra Singh from Dhakaniya Village in Chandi Block gathered information from social media before importing two saplings of Miyazanki from Japan in 2021. These plants have since borne fruits and according to Mukesh and Ramkumar, the trees yielded 21 pieces of the pricey fruit in the first year.
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