Several typhoons made landfall in the Philippines and Vietnam in October and November, causing severe damage to the agricultural sector that will likely cut fertilizer demand in the region.
Typhoon Molave hit the Philippines on 26 October, followed by Typhoon Goni on 1 November. Molave resulted in losses in the agricultural and fisheries sectors that amounted to 705.87mn Philippine peso ($14.5mn). Around 20,000 hectares of agricultural area in Ilocos, Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula were affected. Approximately 25,000 farmers who grow rice, corn, and other high-value crops suffered losses, according to information released by the Philippine Department of Agriculture. Fertilizer demand is likely take a hit in the short term with the damage in agricultural area and loss of income by farmers.
Typhoon Molave is the latest in a series of typhoons to hit Vietnam in October, causing heavy rainfall and serious flooding in the central region. The typhoon damaged 52,600 hectares of crops and inflicted economic damage of around 10 trillion dong ($430mn), Vietnam's Disaster Management Authority said. Fertilizer demand has come to a standstill in the region, according to local market participants, as farmers are unable to work until the floods subside. Typhoon Goni is heading towards Vietnam after moving across the Philippines and is expected to wreck further damage to Vietnam this week.
The series of typhoons that has brought extremely heavy rainfall to the southeast Asian region is likely a consequence of La Niña, a weather event where the large-scale cooling of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean takes place and effects changes on the tropical atmospheric circulation, namely winds, pressure and rainfall.
The latest report from the World Meteorological Organization states that La Niña has developed and is likely to last until 2021, bringing above-average rainfall to southeast Asia. Local market participants are optimistic that the forecast of higher rainfall next year will boost agricultural activity and support fertilizer demand, after most parts of southeast Asia faced drought-like conditions which has affected the agricultural sector since 2019.

