From maize to coffee, El Nino likely to affect various crops across the world
BMI, a Fitch Solutions unit, warned that a potentially severe El Niño could increase drought risks across Southern Africa, Central America, northern South America and Southeast Asia, threatening maize, rice, sugar, palm oil and coffee production. Previous El Niño events increased high-intensity drought exposure across cropland by 11–12 percentage points on average.
With various global organisations predicting that the evolving El Nino could be one of the severest, the weather event could impact various crops across the world, from maize and rice to coffee to palm oil.
“This El Nino is likely to raise drought risk to cropland most in Southern Africa, Central America, northern South America and South-East Asia, threatening maize, rice, sugar, palm oil and coffee output,” said research agency BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.
In past El Ninos, the share of cropland exposed to high-intensity drought rose by 11-12 percentage points on average across these regions, with Zambia, Zimbabwe, Central America’s Dry Corridor, the Philippines, Thailand, Guyana and Suriname among the hardest hit.
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Source : BusinessLine
