Erratic weather triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon could cut rubber output in Indonesia, the second-largest producer, by around 3 per cent to 3 million tonnes this year, a senior industry official said.
“Output may fall by 100,000 tonnes this year,” Asril Sutan Amir, adviser to the Indonesian Rubber Association (GAPKINDO), told Reuters today, ahead of a rubber summit in Singapore.
“We could see double wintering,” Asril said, referring to the risk of an extended dry season, when leaves fall and trees produce less rubber.
Global weather forecasters in recent months have said that the likelihood is increasing of an El Nino event, a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, which heightens uncertainty in global commodity markets.
The conditions can wreak havoc on global crops, triggering drought in Southeast Asia and Australia and floods in the United States and South America.