ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Above average rains in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa growing regions last week should help plenty of small pods to develop well, farmers said on Monday, paving the way for a strong finish of the April-to-September mid-crop.
The rainy season in Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, runs from April to mid-November.
Farmers welcomed the recent downpours and said that if cocoa plantations received regular and abundant rains in May and June, more beans would leave the bush in August and September compared with last year.
In the centre-western region of Daloa and in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rains were above average, farmers said there were enough pods on trees to ensure good harvest in May and June.
“We will finish the mid-crop with a lot of cocoa if the rains continue to be abundant,” Albert N’Zue, who farms near Daloa, where 40.8 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 19.2 mm above the five-year average.
In the western region of Soubre and in the southern region of Divo, where rains were above average, farmers said copious rainfall was needed at least until late June to strengthen pods, which will be harvested in August and September.
“The beans will be large and of good quality from August if the rains are regular,” said Isidore Gole, who farms near Soubre, where 27.5 mm fell last week, 4.5 mm above the average.
Similar views came from the southern region of Agboville and Abengourou in the east, where rain was below average.
Average Ivory Coast temperatures ranged from 27.5 to 30.2 degrees Celsius last week.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian and Alexander Smith)
