Warmer weather has taken its toll on the agricultural sector, as witnessed by farmers in Yunlin County this year, who said that harvests of crops, seafood and poultry have all been impacted by this year’s Indian summer.
Ho Ming-hui (何明輝), a fishery owner, said that the weather usually gets cooler after the Mid-Autumn Festival, but this year had been different, as daytime temperatures remained high until recently and then dropped suddenly. He said shrimp had died in large numbers as a result.
The issue affected shrimp farms across the municipality which have reported that an average of 50 to 60 percent of their stocks have died, with those most affected saying they lost up to 70 percent of their shrimp to the heat.
“Bodies of dead shrimp can be seen in heaps at the bottom of the ponds,” Ho said.
Turkey farmers have suffered a similar fate. Chen Yu-jen (陳欲仁) said almost half of his turkeys had died from heatstroke, adding that the period between May and August was when he was worst affected.
As for damage to fields, the onion crop has been most affected by the unseasonal weather, with harvests expected to be delayed for at least one month.
A Yunlin County farmer Lin Fu-hsien (林輔賢) said that many of his onion buds were killed off by the July sun, forcing him to buy more seeds, which he hoped to sow last month. However, it was not until this month that the weather permittied him to sow the seeds.
A farmer surnamed Tsai (蔡) estimated the price of onions would rise by 30 percent.
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