Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra, India) is famous for growing strawberries. I was in that area (Panchgani, Wai, Mahabaleshwar) on a film shoot, for 2 months. We did have some outdoor locations, and a few of us in the crew, always found time to wander into the fields and steal sugarcane and strawberries.

In the strawberry capital of India, we came across different sizes, but never could I imagine one to be almost the size of my palm! A Japanese farmer has succeeded in breeding giant strawberries measuring 8.5 cm in length and weighing more than 80 grams, compared to the standard strawberry that weighs about 28 gm. The price tag - up to 50,000 yen ($560)!

As the bigger berries do not take up a larger space of land, the new breed can bring in three times as much profit with its price tag, which is more than 100 times the price of an average package of strawberries in Japan.

Japan is known for expensive fruits and vegetables that come in perfectly uniform colours, sizes and shapes. 

pics from www.ananova.com, www.rapnzelreprisal.blogspot.com