# Explainer: Why a super El Niño leaves tropical commodities acutely exposed | Reuters

> Reuters explainer on how a strong El Niño exposes tropical commodities, citing past cocoa output declines and West Africa's drought and heat during the 2023-24 event. It also notes robusta coffee risks in Vietnam and Indonesia from higher temperatures and reduced rainfall.

- Date: 2026-08-18 · published 2026-08-18T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region Global · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/17827-explainer-why-a-super-el-nino-leaves-tropical-commodities-acutely-exposed
- Commodities: [Palm Oil](https://feedsoft.ai/c/PALMOIL.md)

## Why it matters

Expected drier, hotter conditions in key cocoa, coffee and palm growing regions could cut supply and support prices for these tropical crops. Feed buyers should watch palm oil and related meal supplies.

## Read by commodity

- PALMOIL: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PALMOIL | 2026-06-17 | [Explainer: Why a strong El Niño leaves tropical commodities acutely exposed \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18727-explainer-why-a-strong-el-nino-leaves-tropical-commodities-acutely-exposed.md) | -0.3% | -0.2% |
| PALMOIL | 2026-04-24 | [Explainer: How El Nino could impact the world's weather in 2026/27 \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19629-explainer-how-el-nino-could-impact-the-world-s-weather-in-2026-27-reuters.md) | -0.0% | -1.4% |
| PALMOIL | 2023-12-26 | [Global 2024 staple food supplies to be strained by dry weather, export curbs \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/32481-global-2024-staple-food-supplies-to-be-strained-by-dry-weather-export-curbs.md) | -0.9% | +2.0% |
| PALMOIL | 2023-09-28 | [Risks to global food commodity prices from El Niño](https://feedsoft.ai/events/33997-risks-to-global-food-commodity-prices-from-el-nino.md) | -2.3% | -3.9% |
| PALMOIL | 2026-06-04 | [Hot weather hurts Asian crops as powerful El Nino takes shape \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18728-hot-weather-hurts-asian-crops-as-powerful-el-nino-takes-shape-reuters.md) | -4.4% | -6.1% |

## Sources

- reuters.com: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/why-super-el-nio-leaves-tropical-commodities-acutely-exposed-2026-08-18/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.