Growing overseas demand for Japan's square watermelons

The demand for square watermelons grown in Japan is growing in countries outside the nation, Japan's officials say.

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First produced 40 years ago, the square watermelon is becoming an item of growing demand across Japan and around the world.

Each watermelon is sold at $A105 (10,000 Japanese yen) in Japan's department stores.

The 18-centimetre-square cubes are used for decorative purposes because they are harvested unripe and are inedible.

The fruits of this year's harvest were prepared in Zentsuuji city earlier this week.

Japanese agriculture officials said the overseas orders for the cube-shaped watermelons are growing, with 114 orders from Canada and more flooding in from around the world.

The hype around these square melons has also extended to Russia, where the fruit was sold at $A880 (28,000 rubles) in July last year.