Keyword: "El Nino"

Thailand will not face shortages of rice and palm oil because of El Nino as it is a major producer as stocks are sufficient and shortages are not expected.

The total rice export value is forecast at around 3.94 billion USD for 2026, down about 4% from 2025 due to low average export prices in the first months of the year. However, the recovery in prices since July is expected to help improve export turnover in the remaining months.

Malaysian authorities have warned that the ASEAN region could see conditions similar to those during the extreme 1997–1998 El Nino event, which triggered severe regional haze and acute water shortages across Southeast Asia.

Heatwaves are affecting many localities nationwide, with temperatures commonly ranging from 36 to 40 degrees Celsius and even higher in some areas.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh, in his speech, said climate change is making weather more severe and unpredictable, with a powerful El Nino set to hit Vietnam in the second half of 2026 and early 2027. Against such backdrop, enhancing forecasting and early warning capacity, while effectively translating scientific information into management decisions and timely response actions, has become urgent, he said.

Thailand’s Industry Minister Pimphattra Wichaikul said on June 23 that factories and relevant agencies have prepared measured to cope with flooding caused by the El Nina phenomenon.

Vietnam’s rice output is expected to reach 43 million tonnes in 2024, which is able to ensure domestic consumption and export demand of more than 8 million tonnes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Global warming has played a key role in gradually thinning the glaciers atop Puncak Jaya, Papua, Indonesia, some of the few remaining tropical glaciers in the world, according to Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 1 issued a directive ordering measures be taken to cope with the current heat waves, drought, water shortages, and saltwater intrusion which have hit several localities.

Indonesia's dry season is forecast to be less severe this year compared to 2023, improving its chances of managing forest fires and crops.

Among the over 33,000ha of drought-hit forest in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, more than 13,530ha has fire potential rated as “dangerous” (Level 4) and nearly 4,000ha “extremely dangerous” (Level 5), local authorities said.

Although Vietnam holds huge potential to boost rice export in 2024 as the world is forecast to face a shortage of about 5 million tonnes of the grain, limitations in linkage chain must be tackled for the industry to move forward.

The Philippine government on March 6 said that the El Nino dry spell and drought has cost Philippine agriculture over 1 billion PHP (nearly 19 million USD) while the climate pattern may persist till the second quarter this year.

The recent falls in rice prices are only short-term and the upward trend will continue in 2024 on limited supply, providing significant opportunities for Vietnam’s rice export, analysts have said.

Indonesia's state purchasing agency Bulog has issued an international tender to buy 500,000 tonnes of rice sought for arrival in February and March, with the offer deadline set at January 29.

The Philippines is tempering its economic growth outlook for 2024 as it braces for "difficult months" when the El Nino weather phenomenon takes its toll.

Food prices are expected to remain high for the rest of the year as the El Niño weather phenomenon affects production in Indonesia and other countries, the National Food Agency (Bapanas) has said.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has announced that his government will provide direct cash aid to assist communities affected by the drought caused by the EL Nino phenomenon.

Petrovietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) said it has completed 69% of this year's profit before tax goal, with thermal power output expected to increase sharply in the coming months.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo and ministers have discussed solutions to cope with the El Nino phenomenon in the country.