Typhoon Champi and crop damage in Taiwan

Typhoon Champi, for which Taiwan had warnings in force from 21 to 24 October 2026, damaged 7,497 hectares of crops at an average damage level of 21%, according to the damage report of Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture, with data up to 11:00 on 29 October. The ministry says the damaged crops are mainly garlic, followed by sugar apple, Murcott mandarins, bananas and peanuts. Its total estimate for damage to production and facilities rose from one update to the next, and the report is still being updated.

The Ministry of Agriculture puts the losses at NT$489 million

The ministry's Department of Statistics estimates the total damage to agricultural production and private facilities at NT$489.1 million (New Taiwan dollars). Of this, NT$397.9 million is damage to crops, NT$0.34 million to livestock, mainly chickens, and NT$90.9 million to private facilities, most of it (NT$76.7 million) to fishery facilities. The crop damage is equivalent to 1,595 hectares with no harvest at all, when the partial damage on 7,497 hectares is converted to total loss. Yunlin County, on the west side of the island, accounts for 30% of the total with NT$147.8 million. It is followed by Taitung County in the east with NT$88.5 million, Taichung City with NT$66.1 million, Pingtung County with NT$50.8 million and Miaoli County with NT$32.9 million.

Garlic and sugar apple had the largest losses

For farmers growing garlic, the loss is estimated at NT$65.9 million on 468 hectares, with a damage level of 33%, the highest among the five main damaged crops in the report. Sugar apple follows with NT$52.0 million on 644 hectares and 24% damage, then Murcott mandarins with NT$20.9 million on 168 hectares (22%), bananas with NT$20.4 million on 599 hectares (10%) and peanuts with NT$19.6 million on 678 hectares (20%). The report page does not break crops down by county, so it does not show where the damaged garlic fields are.

Losses in the five main damaged crops after Typhoon Champi

Source: Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture, Typhoon Champi agricultural damage report, data up to 11:00 on 29 October 2026.

According to the ministry's press release of 29 October, the crop damage was mainly lodging, flooding and fruit drop. It was relatively more severe for kumquats and Murcott mandarins in Yilan County, apples, sweet persimmons and pears in Taichung, and sugar apple and bananas in Taitung. In Yilan, a farmers' association warehouse holding public rice stocks was also damaged, but the stored rice was not, the ministry says.

Champi passed without making landfall on the main island

Champi did not make landfall on Taiwan's main island, the Ministry of Agriculture notes, yet damage was recorded in 16 counties and cities. Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a sea warning at 23:30 on 21 October and a land warning at 11:30 on 22 October, Taiwan time. It lifted the land warning at 14:30 and the sea warning at 20:30 on 24 October. At CWA stations, the highest rain totals during the warning period were in the north, with 507.5 mm at Zhuzihu and 463.5 mm at Anbu, in the mountains north of Taipei. The Taichung station recorded 41.5 mm and Taitung city none. Among stations with data, the strongest gusts were measured on islands and coasts: 50.8 metres per second, about 183 km/h, on Lanyu (Orchid Island) off Taitung, 44.9 m/s on Pengjiayu and 41.7 m/s in Keelung. At the Taitung city station the gust reached 23.7 m/s, about 85 km/h. Yunlin, the county with the largest damage, has no station in the CWA's main network, so these figures do not show what its fields received.

The damage estimate rose by 9.6% in 18 hours

In its press release of 29 October, with data up to 17:00 on 28 October, the ministry put the total damage at NT$446.2 million. Its report with data up to 11:00 on 29 October puts it at NT$489.1 million, NT$42.9 million more. The ministry says the report is still being updated and that it will keep track of any damage that may appear later, so the current amounts are provisional. For buyers of fruit and vegetables from Taiwan, the report gives damaged areas and the value of the damage, but neither the production lost in tonnes nor prices. The ministry's next update, or price data from wholesale markets, would show whether the damage affects supply.

Nine counties and cities were added to natural disaster relief

On 26 October the ministry added New Taipei, Taoyuan and Taichung cities and Miaoli, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Yilan and Taitung counties to its cash relief and low-interest loans for agricultural natural disasters. On 27 October it added set-net fishing in Pingtung, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties. After this year's revision of the relief rules, cash relief has been raised to 25% of production costs, and losses that meet the weather criteria may be exempted from field inspection. Five parametric (weather-index) insurance products reached their payout threshold, with estimated payouts of about NT$81 million, and natural disaster loans are interest-free until 25 August 2027. On 28 October, Cyclone Arnab hit the coast of Andhra Pradesh in India, where the assessment of damage to rice is also still under way.

Frequently asked questions

How many hectares of crops did Typhoon Champi damage in Taiwan?

According to Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture, 7,497 hectares had been damaged by 11:00 on 29 October, at an average damage level of 21%, equivalent to 1,595 hectares with no harvest.

Which crop lost the most?

The ministry says the damaged crops are mainly garlic, with a loss of NT$65.9 million on 468 hectares and a damage level of 33%. Sugar apple, Murcott mandarins, bananas and peanuts follow.

Which areas were hit hardest?

Yunlin County, with NT$147.8 million or 30% of the total, and Taitung County, with NT$88.5 million or 18%, followed by Taichung, Pingtung and Miaoli.

Did the typhoon make landfall in Taiwan?

Not on the main island, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Central Weather Administration had a land warning in force from 22 to 24 October.

Are the damage figures final?

No. The ministry says the report is still being updated, and the total estimate rose from NT$446.2 million with data of 28 October to NT$489.1 million with data of 29 October.

Important notes

The damage figures come from the report of the Department of Statistics of Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture, which compiles the reports of local governments through the Agriculture and Food Agency, the Fisheries Agency and the Department of Animal Industry, with data up to 11:00 on 29 October 2026, and from the ministry's press release of the same day. Amounts are in New Taiwan dollars, as in the source, with no conversion. Sugar apple stands for the report's category 番荔枝. The no-harvest areas are the ministry's conversion of partial damage to total loss. The rain and wind figures are the values of the stations in the Central Weather Administration's main network for the period from 23:30 on 21 October to 20:30 on 24 October, as given in the charts of its typhoon database, and they do not cover all growing areas. Speeds in km/h are converted from metres per second. The article does not estimate production losses in tonnes or effects on prices.