World’s most expensive Ruby Roman grape sells for Rs 35,000 a piece

Ruby Roman grapes (Image: Wikipedia)

If you are willing to shell out tens of thousands on one piece of fruit – we have news for you. The world’s most expensive grapes – Ruby Romans – sell for a few lakhs per bunch.

Only a limited quantity (2,400 bunches) of this highly exotic and extremely rare fruit is produced every year, according to a report by Republic.com.

Known for its high sugar content, red colour, and impeccably large size (compared to the usual Vitis Vinifera variety that is commercially available in India), the Ruby Roman grapes have been dubbed the Rolls Royce of grapes because of the steep price they fetched at an auction in Japan two years ago. In 2019, one bunch of these ruby red grapes had sold for 1.2 million yen i.e., INR 7,55,000, approximately, making the price of one piece around Rs 35,000.

Ruby Romans are usually the size of a ping pong ball -- although some can grow as big as 3 cm -- and each grape weighs over 20 grams. They are known to be super succulent and have low acid content.

Ruby Roman grapes are exclusively grown and sold in Ishikawa Prefecture of Japan and were reportedly launched as new premium fruits in the market in 2008.

Notably, Japan is also known to produce one of the world’s most expensive fruits – the Japanese Miyazaki mangoes – which are sold at Rs 2.7 lakh per kilogram.