A deep pocketed Japanese department store shelled out an eye-watering 300,000 yen [$2,500] for a pair of mangoes, a record price for the second year in a row.

After the hammer fell at an auction in far-southern Miyazaki, the successful bidder airlifted the fruit to its luxury shop in Fukuoka, where they went on sale at a bargain 210,000 yen.

The mangoes - top-of-the-range "Taiyo no Tamago" [Egg of the Sun]-brand - were the first to go for auction this year, an occasion that usually attracts inflated prices.

To qualify as a "Taiyo no Tamago" mango, each fruit must weigh at least 350 grams [12 oz] and have a high sugar content.

While $2,500 was steep for a pair of mangoes, fruit was routinely expensive in Japan and it was not unusual for a single apple to cost upwards of $3.

This year's must-have luxury fruit was a particular brand of strawberry, with a single berry currently selling for around $415.

However, all pale in comparison with the tear-inducing $25,000 price tag for a pair of cantaloupe melons auctioned in 2008.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team