Agricultural losses nationwide from a spell of cold and wet weather in February have reached NT$159.97 million (US$5.7 million), with fruits such as mangoes, strawberries, and pears being among the hardest hit, according to the Council of Agriculture (COA).
Pingtung County suffered the most out of all areas in Taiwan, reporting NT$56.51 million in agricultural losses, or around 35 percent of the national total, as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, COA data showed.
Miaoli County was next with estimated losses at NT$33.66 million, or 21 percent of the national total, followed by Taichung with NT$27.99 million in losses (17 percent), Taoyuan at NT$18.84 million (12 percent), and Hsinchu County at NT$10.59 million (7 percent), the data showed.
In terms of crop types, 389 hectares of Irwin and other mango varieties were damaged, with total losses estimated at NT$40.33 million, according to the COA.
Yao Chih-wang (???), deputy director of the COA's Agriculture and Food Agency, told CNA on Wednesday that the cold wave had hit just as mango trees were coming into blossom in Pingtung County, which accounts for around 40 percent of domestic Irwin mango production.
In Tainan, which produces the other 60 percent of Taiwan's Irwin crop, mango trees blossom about a month later, largely sparing them from damage, Yao said.
Meanwhile, losses in the domestic strawberry crop were reported to be NT$35.12 million, followed by pears at NT$31.04 million.
Chang Shu-mei (???), who has grown strawberries in Nantou's Guoxing Township for over 20 years, told CNA it was rare to see so many consecutive days of rain during the second strawberry harvest, which occurs in January and February.
She said the rain, which persisted for nearly a week, caused severe damage to her strawberry crop, destroying much of the current harvest.
According to the COA, chive and wax apple crops were also adversely affected by the recent weather, with losses estimated to be NT$19.02 million and NT$7.4 million, respectively.
However, the overall impact on these crops was less severe, due to the short cultivation period for chives and the fact that wax apples remain in season until May, the COA said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel