REUTERS: Prasert Jitkham stoops down and pulls a yellowed sugar cane shoot from baked soil. The worst drought in more than 20 years `has killed the plant he should harvest next year.
The El Nino weather phenomenon has played havoc with crops across Southeast Asia and beyond. Thailand, the world's second-largest sugar exporter, will ship 20% less of the sweetener to international markets this year than last, and farmers fear the damage already inflicted on young cane plants could make next year worse. ...