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As far as fruit packaging goes, this is perhaps the least Earth-friendly one by far. 。

A Hong Kong supermarket has come under fire from shoppers for carrying an elaborately packed single strawberry from Japan. 。

The strawberry, sold by the upscale CitySuper, is packaged in a box, nestled in a straw nest and fruit sock within. Its price tag? HKD $168 ($21.60).。

SEE ALSO:Canadian grocery store is in hot water over pre-peeled avocados。

The uproar started over the weekend, when a picture of the fruit was posted on Facebook. 。

It soon started making its way round social media.。

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CitySuper says that the strawberry was packaged this way by the Japanese supplier as a Valentine's Day gift idea. 。

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"The strawberry gift box was imported from Japan with its original packaging given its premium grade, rarity, and fragility for quality protection," a spokesperson for the supermarket told the 。 Hong Kong Free Press 。Hong Kong Free Press。

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The supermarket said that the strawberry's high price was due to its cost price, logistical costs, market conditions and product exclusivity. 。

The strawberry was air-flown from the city of Nara, Japan, and has been billed as a "rare" fruit with "good acidity and rich sweetness".。

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The uproar about the box comes amidst a petition by environmentalists in Hong Kong calling for less plastic packaging by supermarkets. The petition was launched in January and now has 7,917 signatures. 。

Environmentalists have also started a campaign, #trashthecheckout, to pressure the city's supermarkets to reduce plastic packaging by removing plastic packaging from fruits and vegetables and leaving it at checkout counters:。

Gary Stokes, who started the campaign, wrote in his Facebook post: "If everyone starts to #trashthecheckout then we can only hope that the supermarkets will start listening and begin to source their produce responsibly." 。 Stokes, who is also Asia director for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, told the 。Stokes, who is also Asia director for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, told the 。 South China Morning Post。that the "heavily packaged strawberry" reminded him "of something out of
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Mad Max 。

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-- like it's the last strawberry on Earth."。

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