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World's most expensive mango priced at nearly Rs 19,000 each: Know farmer's technique of growing them in winter

Hiroyuki Nakagawa, a man in Japan has been cultivating mangoes in the cold Tokachi district of the country's northernmost island.

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Mangoes, everyone's favourite fruit, are longed for during the summer. But since 2011, a man in Japan has been cultivating mangoes in the cold Tokachi district of the country's northernmost island. These mangoes are the most expensive in the world as each one is priced for up to $230 (Rs 18,892.78) by Hiroyuki Nakagawa.

On the Japanese island of Hokkaido, in Otofuke, Nakagawa picks ripe mangoes that are about to be boxed and sent. During December, the outside mercury is chilly -8C, yet the greenhouse's thermometer monitor reads around 36C. He never imagined that an environmentally friendly farming attempt would one day produce the most expensive mangoes in the entire world. Nakagawa, 62, had served as the CEO of a petroleum company.

After working for years in the oil industry, where rising prices persuaded him that there was a need to go beyond fossil fuels, Nakagawa made the shift to mango farming. Nakagawa started his farm and launched Noraworks Japan with the help of another mango grower from the southern region of Miyazaki, who insisted that it was possible to cultivate the fleshy fruit in the winter months. After a few years, he registered his mango brand as Hakugin no Taiyo, which means "Sun in the Snow," Bloomberg reported.

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How is he growing mango in the winter?

Utilising two elements of nature that are prized in Nakagawa's native Hokkaido—snow and hot springs—is his secret. In order to fool the fruits into postponing blossoming, he collects snow from the winter and utilises it to cool his conservatories in the summer. The greenhouse is then heated by natural hot springs in the winter, allowing him to harvest about 5,000 mangoes during the off-season.

The method avoids the need for chemicals by allowing mangoes to grow in the cooler seasons when fewer insects are present. The low moisture in Hokkaido also lessens the use of mold-removing products. Additionally, harvesting in the winter provides farmers easier access to labour at a time when Japan is experiencing an employee shortage, mostly in rural areas where farmers have less work to do.

The green method is only an added benefit to the flavour, which, according to Nakagawa, is significantly better than typical mangoes with a higher sugar content of roughly 15 degrees brix. His fruit also has a buttery texture that's free of stringiness.

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Both buyers and retailers have expressed interest in them due to the freshness of how they are made. In 2014, the Isetan department store in Tokyo featured one of his mangoes, which eventually sold for about $400. 

What is Hiroyuki Nakagawa planning to do next?

Nakagawa is not yet satisfied. In order to make Tokachi a fruit production hub in the winter and help the community's economy, he plans to grow other tropical food using the same technique. He then focuses on peaches, another delicious fruit that grows well in hotter areas.

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