URUMQI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The banking sector in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has taken measures to support this year's spring plowing in the region.

The Xinjiang Rural Credit Cooperative Union will deliver loans this year totaling nearly 49 billion yuan (about 7 billion U.S. dollars) to ensure the demand for credit funds for spring plowing materials including fertilizers, seeds, and agricultural machinery equipment.

It has opened up a green channel for credit review. So far, about 70 percent of the loans have been issued to agricultural and animal husbandry enterprises and farmers.

Preferential policies, including interest rate concessions and extended loan payment periods, were also adopted to support farmers that are affected by the coronavirus epidemic to resume production.

For epidemic prevention and control, the regional union encourages farmers to apply for loans through online banking. As of March 12, nearly 13.5 billion yuan of loans have been offered online, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the total.