(Yicai Global) April 20 -- Farmers in China's major grain region of Jilin province could still have a bumper crop this year as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is limited, according to an official.

Preparations are going slower than in previous years due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the bigger outbreaks that mainly took place in March have not directly affected Jilin province's spring plowing, Pan Wenbo, planting administration director at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said to Yicai Global at a press conference today.

The reason is the timing. Farmers generally begin preparing the field for planting corn in mid-late April and the peak sowing period is in May. Soybean activities start later, added Pan. In early April, rice seedlings are sown while large-scale transplanting begins in mid-May.

The impacts are linked to logistics. Some farmers may have been unable to return to their hometowns while it may have also been hard to transport produce to other regions. The ministry has taken measures to help farmers and agricultural suppliers get to work as soon as the epidemic is contained while preparations for recovery are going better than expected, Pan added.

Jilin is key to China's grain production as the northeastern province's grain output was 40.4 million tons in 2021, making up about 6 percent of the country's total, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi