Grilled steak is one of the most expensive cuts of meat you can get in restaurants, but what about Japanese wagyu?

It is the most expensive cut of meat in the world at all, and the price of a pound (nearly half a kilogram) is estimated at between 200 and 300 dollars, while the price of a whole cow is estimated at up to 30 thousand dollars.

But what makes this meat so expensive?

Wagyu means cow in Japanese, and wagyu meat belongs to 4 major breeds, and it is specially bred, so that the fat cells are evenly distributed within the muscles and that is why the wagyu beef looks pink and tastes very tender.

The Japanese government tightly regulates wagyu production to protect the value and quality of the meat, according to Business Insider.

Wagyu is classified according to two main factors;

The amount of meat that can be produced and the quality of the marbling fat.

The wagyu has been approved for sale in Japan from grade 3A (A3) to grade 5A (A5).

The higher the grade, the higher the price.

Wagyu beef has gained almost mythical status, and there are many legends about wagyu farms and the way animals are treated, from getting daily massages to serving them beer.

But these rumors are often not true.

fattening journey

Cows are raised quite differently in each region, but are often raised by a breeder until they are about 10 months old and then auctioned off to fattening farms.

The fattening farm keeps the animals in small pens and feeds them with a concentrated, high-energy fiber blend made from rice, wheat and hay.

They are often fed 3 times a day for about two years, until they reach 50% fat.

Only pregnant and breeding cows are allowed to graze on pastures.

During this fattening period, each cow eats 5 tons of feed.

The goal of fattening is to create marbled pieces of meat in which the meat is equal in fat.

While there are more than 300 types of wagyu available, the most prominent types come from 10 regions.

One of the most expensive pieces is the Matsusaka Wagyu of Mie Prefecture, prepared exclusively from pampered virgin cows and prized for its delicacy.

In 2002, one Matsusaka cow was sold for 50 million yen, or nearly $400,000.

However, the most famous cut of wagyu meat is Kobe beef, which comes from the city of Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture and is prepared exclusively from castrated calves or bulls.

According to Business Insider, wagyu olives are considered the world's rarest steak, and come from livestock raised on dried olive husks that are pressed and mixed into their feed.

The value of Japanese wagyū exports has increased by more than 200% in the past five years.

As Japan's population ages, farmers are struggling to keep up with rising global demand, driving up prices even more.

But the high cost did not discourage international sales.

In 2013, Japan exported 5 billion yen (about $45 million) worth of wagyu.

And exports last year (2020) amounted to 24.7 billion yen (about 218 million dollars).

Many producers now obtain halal certificates for their slaughterhouses so that they can export to Islamic countries.

According to the American Wagyu Society (AWA), the genetic makeup of the wagyu breed of cattle stretches back 35,000 years. In this lineage, most of the fat cells are inside the muscle, providing an easily accessible source of energy. This isolated breed was mixed with other breeds from around the world, and the final genetic blending ended in 1910, giving rise to the modern breed of Wagyu beef we know today.