The prolonged "super El Niño" drought has dried the Kapuas River, forcing palm‑oil mills to stop buying fresh fruit bunches. This disruption threatens the income of thousands of smallholder farmers and the palm‑oil supply that many consumers rely on.

The Kapuas River, which moves about 40 % of West Kalimantan’s palm‑oil output, has receded so far that sandbanks now trap barges and tugboats. Road delivery is limited because trucks carry less and are fewer.

Supendi, a smallholder farmer, drove to the Multi Prima Entakai mill in early October with 7 metric tons of fruit bunches. Because the mill could not accept the fruit, the bunches began to rot on his farm.

Thirteen of the province’s 50 mills – roughly half of West Kalimantan’s processing capacity – are affected, and Aris Supratman estimates palm‑oil supply will fall about 11 % in September. At Multi Prima Entakai, fruit purchases dropped from 30,000 tons in July to 10,000 tons in September, and the mill’s storage tanks are now near full capacity.

Farmers’ income has fallen sharply. Indra Rustandi said many have cut fertilizer use by up to 70 % to save costs. Rahmat Wiyono reported that fruit‑bunch prices fell from 3,400 rupiah per kilogram to 2,650 rupiah per kilogram, making it even harder to cover expenses.