SINGAPORE, May 19 (Reuters) – Erratic weather triggered bythe El Nino weather phenomenon could cut rubber output inIndonesia, the second-largest producer, by around 3 percent to 3million tonnes this year, a senior industry official said.
“Output may fall by 100,000 tonnes this year,” Asril SutanAmir, adviser to the Indonesian Rubber Association (GAPKINDO),told Reuters on Monday, ahead of a rubber summit in Singapore.
“We could see double wintering,” Asril said, referring tothe risk of an extended dry season, when leaves fall and treesproduce less rubber.
Global weather forecasters in recent months have said thatthe likelihood is increasing of an El Nino event, a warming ofsea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, which heightensuncertainty in global commodity markets.
The conditions can wreak havoc on global crops, triggeringdrought in Southeast Asia and Australia and floods in the UnitedStates and South America. (Reporting by Lewa Pardomuan; editing by Jane Baird)
Reuters
