A cotton harvesting machine is working in the field in Awat County, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Sadat)

The coronavirus outbreak in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has had a limited impact on production in the region which supplies 80 percent of China's cotton, said an industry observer.

Due to heightened epidemic prevention and control in Xinjiang, travel controls have been strengthened in all parts of the region, and the shipment and transportation of product from some cotton warehouses has been affected, according to a report by Cottonchina.org.cn, a national cotton industry information platform, on Thursday.

The cotton shipment process in the region is strict and nucleic acid inspection is required for loading and shipping as a part of the prevention and control measures against COVID-19. 

Since there are fewer vehicles going out of Xinjiang, freight prices have increased, the report said.

On Wednesday, 96 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Xinjiang, among which eight asymptomatic infected persons became symptomatic, and another 18 asymptomatic cases were found, all in Urumqi, according to Xinjiang health authorities.

By the end of July, Xinjiang's cotton lint inventory was about 1.2 million tons, lower than the same period last year, according to Texnet, an industry data provider on Wednesday.

However, the disruption has so far seen a limited impact.

The government has issued subsidies, so the financial pressure of cotton farmers has been alleviated, the report said.

Although transportation of cotton by road has been disrupted, deliveries of cotton by rail freight is close to normal level.