High-priced apples recently raised the eyebrows of consumers in northeastern China's Dalian.

New Business, a newspaper based in Dalian, reports apples of extremely high prices are sold at a local supermarket.

The apples aren't anything special except that they are a little bit bigger in size and brighter in color compared to ordinary ones. However, their prices range from 68 to 280 yuan for each (US$ 8.50 to $35), exceeding the general retail price at least several dozen times.

The seller told a journalist of New Business that the apples are imported from Japan and transported by air.

They were put on market on January 23. Nearly 1,000 have been sold.

An unnamed couple bought 400 all at once on last Thursday, spending more than 50,000 yuan (US$6,250) in total. They said they will give the apples to friends and relatives as gifts.

Two apples, which are especially large and weigh about 1 kg each, are also for sale at a unit price of 8,000 yuan (US $1,000).

It is said that only one tree in Japan can bear such big apples, so the quantity is quite limited. Only six such big ones are imported to China this year. We have three in Dalian, said the seller, referring to the two 8,000-yuan apples.

Officials with the Ministry of Agriculture said these high-price apples do not feature special agriculture techniques and they are not essentially different from ordinary ones in terms of taste and quality.

两只个头超大，重量各有1公斤左右的苹果在大连开出了8000元的统一价格。

近日来，在大连市场上出现的高价苹果吸引了不少消费者的眼球。 一家大连报纸《新经济》报道说，当地一家超市里标出了超高的苹果价格。 相比与一般苹果，这些苹果除了体积略大、色泽鲜亮之外，也并无什么特别之处。但是，他们的售价每只却从68元到280元（从8.50美圆到35美圆）不等。比普通苹果价格高出了几十倍。 售货员告诉《新经济》记者，这些苹果是从日本空运而来的。 他们于1月23起投入市场，并且已经卖出去了1000只。 一对匿名夫妇在上星期四共花了5万多元（6250美圆）购买了400只苹果。他们说这些苹果是用来馈赠亲友的。 两只个头超大，重量各有1公斤左右的苹果也开出了8000元（1000美圆）一个的统一价格。 售货员说：“据说在日本只有一棵苹果树可以结出这样的大苹果，所以数量相当有限，今年中国只进口了6个，而大连得到了其中3个。” 农业部官员称，这种高价苹果并不意味着什么特殊的农业种植技术。而且他们在口感和质量上也与普通苹果没有什么差异