TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Agricultural losses around the country in the wake of February’s cool, rainy weather totaled NT$159.97 million (US$5.7 million).
Mangoes, strawberries, and pears took the worst hit, CNA cited the Council of Agriculture (COA) as saying Tuesday (March 1). Pingtung County reported the highest losses at NT$56.51 million, followed by Miaoli County (NT$33.66 million), Taichung (NT$27.99 million), Taoyuan (NT$18.84), and Hsinchu County (NT$10.59 million).
The COA said 389 hectares of Irwin and other mango varieties were affected, with total losses estimated to be NT$40.33 million. Yao Chih-wang (姚志旺), deputy director of the COA’s Agriculture and Food Agency, told CNA that the cold snap occurred just as mango trees in Pingtung County were starting to blossom.
Pingtung County is responsible for around 40% of Taiwan's Irwin mango crop. Tainan accounts for the other 60%, but since those trees blossom about a month later, many of them were unaffected by the temperature drop, Yao said.
Losses for strawberries totaled NT$35.12 million, while damage to pears hit NT$31.04 million. Chive crops suffered NT$19.02 million in losses, while wax apples losses were estimated to be NT$7.4 million.