A 15-member Chinese delegation is likely to visit  Gilgit-Baltistan region to explore options for buying and importing cherries from Pakistan, media reports said.

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, Commercial Counselor, Pakistan Embassy, Beijing, Ghulam Qadir told APP.

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, reports The Nation.

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

China is currently importing a major share of its cherries from South American countries.

However, the transportation cost and time remain a major issue of concern.

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.