El Nino may hammer Asian farms with dry weather, but shower American growers

SINGAPORE, June 1 (Reuters) – Early signs of hot, dry weather caused by El Nino are threatening food producers across Asia, while American growers are counting on heavier summer rains from the weather phenomenon to alleviate the impact of severe drought.

El Nino, a warming of water surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, is expected to develop in the coming months, according to meteorologists. The impact of the phenomenon typically causes hot, dry weather across Asia and Australia while bringing heavier-than-normal rainfall to the southern U.S. and southern South America.

As El Nino looms, wheat output in Australia, the world’s second-largest exporter of the grain, is expected to take a hit from dry…