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.
For several weeks, local palm oil mills have cut their fresh fruit bunch purchases because storage tanks are filled with processed oil they cannot ship out as a prolonged drought driven by "super El Nino" conditions has dried out the area's main transportation artery, the Kapuas River.
"The fruit was not accepted," Supendi told Reuters by telephone. "Now we’re at a loss as to how to sell it.”
He had driven from his hometown to the Multi Prima Entakai palm oil mill in the city of Sanggau in early October carrying 7 metric tonnes of fruit bunches from his small farm and neighbouring ones. He is one of thousands of smallholder farmers in West Kalimantan stuck with rotting fruit.
Supendi's struggles illustrate one of the many impacts of this year's extreme El Niño in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
The weather phenomenon caused by a warming of the Pacific Ocean waters off South America typically causes hot, dry weather in Southeast Asia. But the strength of the current pattern has parched rivers and wells in Indonesia and fanned forest fires in Borneo – where West Kalimantan is located – and Sumatra that have spread choking haze over the province and as far as Malaysia and Singapore.
West Kalimantan accounts for about 11% of palm oil output in Indonesia, the world's largest producer, and analysts estimate fourth-quarter output across Indonesian Borneo could fall by 12% to 15% because of the El Niño-related disruptions.
Sandbanks and stranded barges
The Kapuas – Indonesia's longest river at 1,143km (710 miles) – transports 40% of West Kalimantan’s palm oil output, according to data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, known as GAPKI. Sandbanks have emerged from the receding waters of the river, causing several barges and tugboats to run aground, according to Reuters witnesses.
Road delivery is a limited alternative, because trucks carry less than barges and fewer are available, millers say.
During El Ninos in 2015 and 2018, similar droughts lasted for about a month, several local farmers said. But this year the Kapuas has dropped to a lower level, and the effects have lasted for two months already.
Indonesia's weather agency expects the start of the rainy season to be pushed back to November, from October normally, delaying the river's resurgence and relief from the country's most intense wildfires in 11 years.
Output impact
Thirteen palm oil mills out of 50 in West Kalimantan have been affected by the transportation disruptions, accounting for roughly half of the province's processing capacity, said Aris Supratman, who heads GAPKI's West Kalimantan office.
He estimated the palm oil supply from the province would fall by about 11% in September from August due to the backup.
"Because of the disruption, shipments are being delayed, and once their storage tanks are full, they inevitably have to limit production,” he said.
GAPKI has revised down its 2026 national palm oil production forecast by 2.9% as the dry weather slows fruit maturity.
Dian Kurniawan, 44, a manager at the Multi Prima Entakai mill that turned Supendi away, said the company's fruit bunch purchases had dropped to 10,000 tonnes in September compared to the 30,000 tonnes it processed in July.
As of Oct 1, the mill held 8,200 tonnes of crude palm oil, near its storage tank capacity of 8,500 tonnes.
"We usually can deliver 2,000 tonnes in four days, but with trucks sometimes we can only deliver 100 tonnes per day,” Dian said, adding that truck shipments are not only slower than by barge but also three times the cost.
Farmers unable to sell their harvests face difficulties maintaining their palm trees, said Indra Rustandi, who heads the West Kalimantan branch of smallholder farmers group APKASINDO, adding the lack of income has caused some to cut their fertiliser applications by up to 70% to save costs.
Another Sanggau smallholder, 63-year-old Rahmat Wiyono, said he struggled to sell his fruit over the last two months, sometimes driving six hours only to be offered 2,650 rupiah (US$0.15) per kg of fruit bunches, compared with three hours at his regular mill, which had paid 3,400 rupiah.
"Some of our friends haven’t had any harvest for the past two months, so they have had to find other ways to supplement their daily income," such as selling homemade cakes and donuts, he said.