As reported last week, Taiwan has been hit by a cold front which is causing huge losses in the agricultural industry. Updated statistics released by the Council of Agriculture (COA) Friday 29 January showed that the estimated agricultural losses last week have now topped NT$2.4 billion (US$71.64 million).
Tai Yu-yen secretary general of the COA, said the updated estimate of agricultural losses reached a new high since December 1999, in terms of damage caused by cold weather.
Last week's cold wave, the most serious in a decade, engulfed Taiwan over the weekend 22-24 January. While new lows were not set in every area, all 28 weather stations around Taiwan recorded their lowest temperatures of this winter over the past weekend.
As of 11 a.m. Friday, the COA data showed, Tainan City had suffered the heaviest agricultural losses in Taiwan. The damage in Tainan has been estimated at NT$1.19 billion, accounting for 48 percent of the country's total.
Kaohsiung City came in second with agricultural losses hitting NT$821 million, making up about 33 percent of the national total, followed by Chiayi County, which recorded NT$128 million in agricultural losses. Yulin County rounded out the top four with NT$76.51 million in farm damage, the statistics showed.
The COA said that estimated crop losses totaled NT$276 million resulting from the cold weather as of Friday morning. A total of 5,024 hectares of crops were damaged, with grapes hit the hardest, followed by pears, tomatoes, tangerines and strawberries.
Source - freshplaza.com
