Chinese delegation to visit Gilgit-Baltistan on May 15 to import cherries

Beijing: A 15-member Chinese delegation will travel to the picturesque Gilgit-Baltistan region to explore options for buying and importing cherries from Pakistan, Commercial Counselor, Pakistan Embassy, Beijing, Ghulam Qadir said on Sunday.

The Chinese buyers hailing from Xinjiang, Zhejiang and Shandong provinces as well as the Weifang area will arrive in the region – home to cherry orchards in Pakistan, on May 15 on a four-day visit, he said.

They will meet local farmers, and relevant officials and visit cherry orchards and inspect quality of the exotic fruit, he added.

Pakistan and China signed a cooperation protocol during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing in November last year.

Under the protocol, China will not only import cherries from Pakistan but also help the local grower to enhance production.

Currently, China imports the bulk of its cherries from South American countries to meet growing demand. However, the transportation cost and time is a major predicament.

Ghulam Qadir informed that the annual demand of the Chinese market is around 350,000 metric tons but Gilgit-Baltistan produces around 5,000 metric tons of cherry per season.

And since local consumption is limited, the growers export the fruit. Cherry is an easily perishable fruit – with little shelf life – so Pakistan has been looking for nearby destinations to export cherry.

And China, being a next-door neighbor with an ever-growing appetite for the fruit, is the most viable option.

Ghulam Qadir said that to meet the increasing demand in the Chinese market, it is very important for our growers to improve farming practices by using the latest and modern technology.

He also emphasized the importance of processing and packaging facilities to increase the shelf life of the fruit and make its transportation easy and viable.

“Getting access to the Chinese market for cherry would be a major breakthrough, which could be followed by export of other fruits being produced in the region,” he added.