27 MARCH 1998. SOUTHEAST ASIA: CLIMATE (DROUGHT)

Joyce Liu of Reuters reports that Asian farmers face continued drought as El Nino winds down, posing a threat to crops of coffee, cocoa, sugar, rubber and oil palm, rice and corn . The drought may not break over all of Indonesia before October. Thailand and the Philippines may get a break in June. However, there is a fear that ENSO may delay the onset of the monsoon season. Soil moisture and reservoir levels are already low, so a prolonged drought may be highly damaging.--based on a report from Reuters <singapore.newsroom@reuters.com

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