Experts are expecting recovery will be slower in Hubei, the province hardest hit by Covid-19, than in other Chinese provinces. This means further setbacks for the country agricultural indutry, as Hubei is one of the country’s main generators of chemical fertiliser.

In 2019 Hubei produced nearly one tenth of the total rice produced in China. However, experts from Bain & Company are saying that most of China’s farmers will get through the busy season ahead. The Chinese government has made it clear that spring planting must be carried out without additional delay, according to Thomas Luedi, a partner with Bain & Company.

“They built two hospitals in about a week,” Leudi notes, as an example of how quickly seeds are likely to be sown.