Taiwan suffers NT$118 million in agricultural losses due to cold spell

Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) A recent cold spell that gripped Taiwan has caused nationwide agricultural losses estimated at NT$118.14 million (US$4.2 million), the Council of Agriculture (COA) said Thursday.

The most heavily damaged crop was wax apples, which accounted for over NT$70 million of the total agricultural losses, the COA said, citing data valid for the period Dec. 30, 2020 to Jan. 14.

In total, some 657 hectares of crops were damaged, according to the COA.

It said that in other sectors, aquaculture farms that produce milkfish sustained total losses of NT$21.79 million, while livestock losses amounted to about NT$25,000.

In terms of regions, the southern county of Pingtung took the hardest hit, suffering agricultural damage of NT$66 million, which was 56 percent of the national total, the COA said.

Yunlin County, also in southern Taiwan, sustained the second-highest losses, totaling NT$16.13 million, followed by the offshore Penghu County, with NT$8.64 million in damage, the council said.