This article, based on the findings of the Expana Global Weather Report – August 2025 (customer access only), provides an overview of major late-summer tropical storms in Asia and their impacts, highlighting acute vulnerabilities in regional supply chains for fruits, vegetables, crops, and aquaculture products.
Figure 1. Approximate path and impact zone of Typhoons Kajiki and Podul, both of which reached Category 2 strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale, and Tropical Storms Nongfa and Lingling.
Typhoon Podul
Typhoon Podul crossed the Philippine Sea and made landfall in Taitung, Taiwan, on August 13 as the equivalent of a Category 1 storm, with sustained winds near 100 mph. before heading westwards across the Taiwan Strait and striking China’s Fujian Province later the same day and dissipating over Guangdong on August 14.
According to the Expana Global Weather Report – August 2025, Podul brought heavy rain and flooding to southern Taiwan and China’s southeast coast and compounded agricultural losses from earlier storms.
Taiwan’s preliminary agricultural damage was estimated at about $14 million, with custard apples, bananas, pomelos, guavas and ginger among the worst-hit crops.
“I’ve not seen any market indicators that price is changing up or down…for now,” stated an Expana market participant when asked about the damages. However, power outages, blocked roads and public transport suspensions disrupted distribution and raised short-term supply concerns for fresh fruit markets, said Holly Bianchi, Market Reporter Fruit and Vegetables, Expana.
In Fujian and Guangdong, authorities reported severe downpours, grounded flights and suspended high-speed rail services, and fishing vessels were recalled to port.
Official Chinese farm damage assessments remained limited, but observers warned that fruit, vegetable and aquaculture supplies in coastal provinces could face local disruptions if floods persist or damage emerges in harvest windows.
Tropical Storm Lingling
A week later, Tropical Storm Lingling formed in the East China Sea and made landfall in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, on August 21 with peak winds around 50 mph. The storm produced heavy rain, flash flooding and landslide warnings. Transport networks were affected, including suspension of bullet train services, and power outages occurred across several prefectures.
Early reports echoed by the Expana Global Weather Report – August 2025 indicated minimal large-scale agricultural losses, though key crops monitored for potential damage included rice, passionfruit, sweet potato, green tea and okra. The immediate economic impact appeared limited, but continued rainfall in vulnerable growing areas could pressure local fresh-produce supplies.
Typhoon Kajiki
A few days later, Typhoon Kajiki formed in the South China Sea and made landfall between Hà Tĩnh and Nghệ An provinces in Vietnam on August 25 as a Category 1 storm. Kajiki’s heavy rains and storm surge submerged thousands of acres of rice paddies, damaged fruit orchards and inflicted severe losses on aquaculture and fisheries, according to the Expana Global Weather Report – August 2025.
Reports cited more than 100 fishing vessels sunk or damaged, roughly 9,000 acres of aquaculture farming affected, and more than 250 cages damaged or washed away. This included shrimp, which has suffered significant storm-related damage since early June.
Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh reportedly saw more than 200,000 acres of farmland submerged across parts of the north-central coast and longer-duration submersion in some areas raising the risk of total crop failure where rice was near harvest.
Given Vietnam’s role as a major exporter of rice and shrimp, damage to paddies and coastal farms raised concerns among market watchers about potential regional supply constraints and short-term price effects, even though national output was described as broadly stable.
Tropical Storm Nongfa
Tropical Storm Nongfa made landfall in Quảng Bình, Vietnam, on August 30 with winds up to 45 mph and moved inland into Laos, triggering flooding across central Vietnam, Laos and parts of Thailand. According to the Expana Global Weather Report – August 2025, Nongfa struck regions already weakened by Kajiki a week earlier, inflicting further damage to grapefruit, rice and vegetable crops and prompting hurried harvests of vulnerable fruit.
Authorities reported submerged and flattened paddy fields in southern Quảng Bình and additional losses across north-central provinces; an estimated 68,500 acres of crops, 74,000 acres of rubber and 17,000 acres of aquaculture remained at risk if rains continued. More than 450 landslides were reported across several provinces, and sea-activity was suspended in parts of Nghệ An as fishing boats were recalled to port.
Tropical Storm Nongfa may have also cause disruptions to the aquaculture sector, although reports of damage remain limited. While the major cultivation area for shrimp is in the south, the north-central regions account for 20% of national production.
While Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, the country’s primary rice-exporting region, remained largely outside the immediate impact zone, repeated damage in the north-central belt heightened local production risks and the potential for export disruptions in rice, rubber and seafood.
Co-authored by: Simon Duke, Managing Editor – EMEA; Holly Bianchi, Market Reporter Fruit and Vegetables
Expana
Image source: Getty
Written by Demelza Knight
