{
  "id": 15559225,
  "title": "El Nino drought chokes palm oil shipments, leaves Indonesian farmers with rotting fruit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/el-nino-drought-chokes-palm-oil-shipments-leaves-indonesian-farmers",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-19T04:22:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/region/2026/10/1558768/el-nino-drought-chokes-palm-oil-shipments-leaves-indonesian-farmers"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A severe El Niño drought in Indonesia has crippled palm oil shipments, leaving farmers with rotting fruit. Supendi, a 33-year-old farmer, waited four days to unload his harvest at a mill in West Kalimantan, only to be told to leave as storage tanks were full. Local mills cut purchases due to filled tanks, unable to ship processed oil. The main transportation artery, the Kapuas River, is dry, affecting 40% of West Kalimantan's palm oil output. The river's reduced flow has caused sandbanks and grounded barges, limiting road deliveries. The El Niño weather pattern, caused by warming Pacific Ocean waters, has led to wildfires and poor air quality, affecting Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. West Kalimantan, which accounts for 11% of Indonesia's palm oil output, faces a potential 12-15% reduction in fourth-quarter production. 13 of 50 mills in the province are impacted, causing supply to fall by 11% in September. Farmers struggle to sell their fruit, leading some to cut fertiliser applications by up to 70% to save costs.",
  "summary": "SANGGAU: Supendi, a 33-year-old palm fruit farmer, cooled his heels at a mill in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan for four frustrating days earlier this month trying to unload his harvest of fresh fruit bunches before being told to leave as the site was full.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Japan Times",
        "title": "El Nino-powered drought leaves Indonesian palm farmers high and dry as river recedes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/el-nino-powered-drought-leaves-indonesian-palm-farmers-high-and-dry-15577880",
        "published": "2026-10-19T05:07:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "El Nino-powered drought leaves Indonesian palm farmers high and dry",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/el-nino-powered-drought-leaves-indonesian-palm-farmers-high-and-dry",
        "published": "2026-10-19T05:30:37.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}