Heavy Rain Causes Over NT$20 Million in Agricultural Losses; Taro and First-Season Rice Each Exceed NT$5 Million

According to statistics from Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture, torrential rains since June 8 have caused agricultural damage exceeding NT$20 million. Taro and first-season rice have been particularly affected, with losses surpassing NT$5 million each.

The Ministry of Agriculture released a press statement indicating that heavy rains starting June 8 have triggered agricultural disasters. Based on data compiled by the Agricultural Production and Marketing Office and the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency from municipal and county governments as of 11:00 a.m. today, estimated losses to agricultural products and private facilities amount to NT$23.91 million.

The ministry reported that agricultural product losses are estimated at NT$23.81 million, with a total affected crop area of 473 hectares and a damage rate of 22%. This equates to 104 hectares of unrecoverable harvest area. The most severely affected crop is taro, with 55 hectares damaged (33% damage rate), 18 hectares unrecoverable, and losses totaling NT$5.15 million. First-season rice follows with NT$5.02 million in losses. Other crops such as eggplant, watermelon, and bitter gourd each suffered losses exceeding NT$2 million.

By region, Pingtung County recorded the highest losses at NT$14.85 million (62% of total), followed by Yunlin County at NT$2.91 million (12%) and Kaohsiung City at NT$1.64 million (7%).

Additionally, forest product losses due to damaged trees amount to NT$30,000, while private infrastructure such as horizontal trellises and greenhouse netting suffered approximately NT$70,000 in damages.