- Animal Crossing New Leaf fruits come in 12 types plus 5 perfect fruit varieties
- Foreign fruit sells for 500 Bells at Re-Tail versus only 100 for your native fruit
- Perfect foreign fruit is the top earner at up to 3,600 Bells with the Bell Boom ordinance
- Island tours and villager letters are your main sources of foreign fruit
- Plant, harvest, repeat is the core loop for building a profitable orchard
Fruit Types in Animal Crossing New Leaf
Your town starts with a set of native trees, but the full Animal Crossing New Leaf fruits roster covers 12 different varieties spread across three categories: town fruits, island fruits, and palm tree fruits. Each new game assigns you one native town fruit, one native island fruit, and one native palm fruit. Everything else counts as foreign, which matters a great deal when it comes time to sell.
| Category | Fruits | Where Found | Sells Well? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town Fruit | Apple, Cherry, Orange, Peach, Pear | Player town, other towns | Only when foreign |
| Island Fruit | Durian, Lemon, Lychee, Mango | Tortimer Island | Same price native or not |
| Palm Tree Fruit | Banana, Coconut | Beaches, island | Same price native or not |
| Perfect Fruit | Apple, Cherry, Orange, Peach, Pear | Grown on perfect trees | Highest value |
| Special Fruit | Persimmon | Gardening store sapling | Decorative / standard sale |
At the start of the game you have exactly one native town fruit, one native island fruit, and one native palm tree fruit. Everything you bring in from elsewhere is a money-maker.
Town Fruits (5)
- Apple, Cherry, Orange, Peach, Pear
- Native copies sell low
- Perfect versions exist
Island Fruits (4)
- Durian, Lemon, Lychee, Mango
- Fixed price, native or not
- Grown only from island stock
Palm Fruits (2)
- Banana, Coconut
- Planted only on beach sand
- Great early income source
Fruit Prices and Where to Sell
Pricing depends on three things: whether the fruit is native or foreign, whether it is perfect, and where you sell it. Re-Tail always pays more than the Nookling store, and the Bell Boom ordinance boosts all prices by 20%.
| Fruit Type | Re-Tail | Nookling | Re-Tail w/ Bell Boom | Nookling w/ Bell Boom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native Fruit | 100 | 80 | 120 | 96 |
| Perfect Native Fruit | 600 | 480 | 720 | 576 |
| Foreign Fruit | 500 | 400 | 600 | 480 |
| Perfect Foreign Fruit | 3000 | 2400 | 3600 | 2880 |
| Island/Palm Fruit | 250 | 200 | 300 | 240 |
Always sell your fruit at Re-Tail unless you specifically want the Nookling credit. Re-Tail pays 25% more on every fruit type, and the gap only widens with Bell Boom active.
Note that all island fruits sell for the same 250 Bells whether they are native to your town or not, so there is no "foreign bonus" for durians, lemons, lychees, or mangoes. The real money is in foreign town fruits and, above all, perfect foreign fruit.
Perfect Fruit Farming Step-by-Step
Perfect fruit is the single most profitable fruit in the game, and a well-run perfect orchard can fund public works projects and home loans faster than nearly any other early-game method.
Collect Foreign Fruit
Get foreign town fruits from island tours, villager letters and gifts, or visits to other players' towns. Plant them so you own every foreign variety.
Spot a Perfect Fruit
Perfect fruit occasionally grows on a native town fruit tree. It looks noticeably different from the regular fruit hanging beside it, so check your native trees every harvest.
Plant Perfect Native Fruit
Perfect fruit only grows into a new tree when planted in a town where that fruit is native. Bury your perfect native fruit to grow a perfect tree.
Trade With Other Players
Because perfect trees only grow for native fruit, the top strategy is trading perfect fruit with friends whose native fruit differs from yours. Each perfect foreign fruit then sells for up to 3,600 Bells.
Harvest and Replant
A perfect tree yields several harvests before dying, so keep a stock of perfect fruit buried to replace exhausted trees and maintain orchard output.
Perfect fruit trees stop producing after a set number of harvests and eventually wither. Keep spare perfect fruit on hand so you can replant immediately and never lose orchard capacity.
How to Get Every Fruit
Fruit arrives in your town through several channels, and combining them all is the fastest way to complete your collection.
| Source | Fruits Obtained | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Other Players' Towns | Any town fruit | Bring a fruit home and plant it |
| Island Tours | Island and town fruits | Reward for tour completion |
| Villager Gifts | Random fruits | Letters and favors |
| Tortimer Island Shop | Island fruits, coconuts, bananas | Stocked during visits |
| Gardening Store | Persimmon sapling | Special fruit category |
You only need one fruit of each type. Bury it with a shovel, wait a few days, and a full tree grows. One foreign fruit becomes a renewable 500-Bell-per-piece income source.
Fruit Collection Milestones:
- Plant all 5 non-native town fruits
- Grow bananas and coconuts on your beach
- Collect durian, lemon, lychee, and mango
- Buy and plant a persimmon sapling
- Start your first perfect fruit orchard
FAQ
Q: How many types of Animal Crossing New Leaf fruits are there?
There are 12 fruit types in total: 5 town fruits (apple, cherry, orange, peach, pear), 4 island fruits (durian, lemon, lychee, mango), and 2 palm tree fruits (banana, coconut), plus persimmon as a special fruit and 5 perfect fruit varieties.
Q: What is the most valuable fruit in Animal Crossing New Leaf?
Perfect foreign fruit is the most valuable, selling for 3,000 Bells at Re-Tail, or 3,600 Bells if the Bell Boom ordinance is active.
Q: Why is my native fruit worth so little?
Native town fruit sells for just 100 Bells at Re-Tail because it is so abundant in your own town. Foreign fruit sells for 500 Bells, making imported fruit five times more profitable.
Q: Can I grow a perfect fruit tree from any perfect fruit?
No. Perfect fruit only grows into a tree when planted in a town where that fruit is the native fruit. To profit from perfect foreign fruit, trade with players whose native fruit is different from yours.