Asian rice prices experienced their largest monthly surge in nearly two decades in May, driven by weather risks and escalating energy and fertilizer costs. Farmers in import-reliant Asia are facing high input expenses, with some delaying or skipping planting.

It is not just the threat of a severe El Niño event on analysts' radars.

Asian rice prices experienced their largest monthly surge in nearly two decades in May, driven by weather risks and escalating energy and fertilizer costs. Farmers in…