The nation's agriculture and fishery losses stemming from the recent cold spell amounted to NT$142 million (US$4.49 million) by Friday, figures released by the Council of Agricultural Affairs (COA) show.
Fishery losses totaled NT$85.43 million, with Penghu County suffering the worst losses at an estimated NT$84.82 million, followed by Tainan County at NT$616,000, the COA figures show.
Meanwhile, agricultural losses amounted to NT$57.14 million, with Hsinchu County the hardest-hit region, followed by Ilan County, Taichung County, Kaohsiung County, Miaoli County and Yunlin County, the council said.
COA officials said they had instructed local agricultural councils to deal with the situation, including offering guidance to farmers on how to protect their crops from cold weather.
The officials said that they would continue to monitor developments related to agricultural losses caused by the cold spell, as well as the response measures implemented.
The nation has since the beginning of this month been in the grip of the cold spell that has driven temperatures below 10oC and was expected to last until this weekend.
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