TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Financial assistance is being offered to fruit growers in Hualien County after droughts earlier in the year negatively impacted production in the region.

After a lack of rainfall in February and March, the Hualien County Government appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture for assistance, which announced grants of NT$80,000 (US$2,447) per hectare for affected growers on Wednesday (July 3), per CNA. Hualien’s Department of Agriculture Director Chen Shu-wen (陳淑雯) said growers who have lost at least 20% of their crop will be eligible for financial assistance.

The Central Weather Administration recorded 56 and 21 mm of rain in Hualien for February and March, respectively, compared to an average rainfall of around 75 mm for both months.  

The region’s Matou Wentan (麻豆文旦) pomelo growers, who produce nearly a quarter of the fruit in Taiwan, have been hit harder by the lack of rain. The area's pomelos are grown on 890 hectares of land, making it the country's second-largest pomelo production region.

The Matou Wentan pomelo was developed in Tainan, where the fruit is grown on 1,000 hectares of land. The variety was developed from a pomelo strain introduced to Taiwan in the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) and is believed to be named after a Chinese opera female lead (小旦) surnamed Wen (文).