Oil Used in Twix Threatened by Drought for Asia Palm Crop
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The most-severe drought in 17 years is threatening supplies of palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s biggest producers, and forecasters say an El Nino weather pattern this year may cause even more damage.
The countries got less than 50 millimeters (2 inches) of rain in January and February in some growing areas, the driest spell since 1997. Conditions stressed palm fruits that are crushed to make the world’s most-consumed vegetable oil, used in Pop-Tarts, Oreo cookies and Twix candy bars. Now, meteorologists see increasing chances of an El Nino as early as July that would parch farms from Thailand to Australia.