It's harvest time for fruit in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Ministry of Commerce and the regional government are taking a series of measures to help farmers sell more.

The blazing summer heat is a blessing to orchards throughout Xinjiang.

Its celebrated fruits are ripening and growers are busy with packing them up.

Orders are pouring in from overseas.

Ahdili, Xinjiang businessman said "The apricots are very good this year. We plan to ship them to Kazakhstan, Because we are almost out of stock there."

The Ministry of Commerce and local authorities opened a trade fair on Tuesday.

The aim is to help Xinjiang farmers expand their domestic market.

The event has attracted 19 major farm product wholesalers from Beijing and Guangdong Province. Deals have been sealed on nearly 400,000 tons of fruit.