*** World’s most expensive grapes! | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

World’s most expensive grapes!

Tokyo : A bunch of grapes in Japan sold for $10,900 yesterday, a record price for the variety in the fruit-obsessed nation where the produce can be a huge status symbol.

Seasonal fruit offerings in Japan routinely attract massive sums from buyers seeking social prestige, or from shop owners wanting to attract customers to “ooh and ahh” over the high-flying edibles.

The buyer of Thursday’s bunch of about 30 Ruby Romans -- who paid about $360 per grape -- showed no wrath, promising to dole out samples to a few fortunate patrons.

“These are truly Ruby Roman gems,” bidder Takamaru Konishi from western Japan told media.

“We will display them at our store before giving our customers a sample taste,” he said.

Even to the untrained eye, the super-sweet grapes -- about as large as a ping pong ball -- stand above their more affordable cousins readily available in supermarkets elsewhere in the world.