Bluefin tuna price slumps to $89,000 at Japan auction

Wholesalers check the quality of fresh tunas displayed at the Tsukiji market before the New Year's auction in Tokyo on Jan 5, 2014. A giant bluefin tuna sold at a Japanese auction on Sunday for less than five per cent of the record-breaking sum paid last year amid concerns over soaring prices for the prized delicacy. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

TOKYO  - A giant bluefin tuna sold at a Japanese auction on Sunday for less than five percent of the record-breaking sum paid last year amid concerns over soaring prices for the prized delicacy.

The 230-kg bluefin tuna was purchased at the Tsukiji market's first auction of the year for 7.36 million yen (S$89,000), significantly down from the 155.4 million yen paid for a fish of similar quality in 2013 - slipping below 10 million yen for the first time in five years.

Bluefin is usually the most expensive fish available at Tsukiji, the biggest fish and wholesale seafood market in the world.

A piece of "otoro", or the fatty underbelly, can cost up to 2,000 yen at high-end Tokyo restaurants.

AFP