From rice to palm oil, Asian crops output forecast lower as El Nino strengthens
economictimes.indiatimes.comEl Nino intensified, and forecasts for lower rainfall in September are further threatening to disrupt supplies.
While wheat output forecasts are being revised lower due to dry weather in Australia, the world's second largest exporter, record-low monsoon rains are expected to reduce the volume of crops, including rice, in India, the world's biggest shipper of the grain, meteorologists and analysts said.
Insufficient rains in Southeast Asia, meanwhile, could dent supplies of palm oil, the world's most widely used vegetable oil, while extreme weather in top corn and soybean importer China is putting food output at risk.
«We are in full-blown El Nino weather in several parts of the world and it is going to intensify towards the end of the year,» said Chris Hyde, a meteorologist at U.S.-based Maxar, which provides climate data analytics.
«The weather pattern in Asia will correlate with dry El Nino conditions.»
El Nino is a warming of Pacific waters which typically results in drier conditions over Asia and excessive rains in parts of North and South America.
LACK OF RAINS IN INDIA, AUSTRALIA
India's monsoon rains, crucial for summer crops such as rice, sugarcane, soybeans and corn, are poised to be the weakest in eight years.
«The impact of El Nino is much greater than we had anticipated,» said a senior India Meteorological Department official. «This month is going to end with a deficit of over 30%, marking it as the driest August on record.
