Below-average rain in parts of Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions could impact the quality of the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday, although overall they expected a good harvest. Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is in the midst of the rainy season. But while rainfall has been abundant in the south-east and west of the country, its central and southern regions have been unusually dry.
In the centre-western region of Daloa, which accounts for a quarter of Ivory Coast's national output, farmers said more rain was needed to boost the final stage of the mid-crop. "It is very hot. The trees need more moisture in order to produce good quality beans over the coming months," said Albert N'Zue, who farms in Daloa. Data collected by Reuters showed that rainfall in Daloa reached 13.8 mm last week, 11.7 mm below average.
Farmers in the southern region of Divo remained optimistic despite receiving 21.6 mm of rain last week, 14.3 mm below average. But in the southern region of Agboville, which received 42.9 mm of rain last week, 4.6 mm below average, farmers said they still expected the mid-crop to be more abundant than last year. In the south eastern region of Aboisso, farmers said many trucks were already loading up with beans in the villages, and that they expected another abundant harvest next month.
"The weather will bring a lot more cocoa to our trees over the next few weeks," said Etienne Yao, who farms near Aboisso. Data showed that rainfall in Aboisso, which includes the town of Abengourou, was at 63.3 mm last week, 17.1 mm above average. "There are still many harvests to do because there is lot of fruit on the trees," said Lazare Ake, who farms in the outskirts of the western region of Soubre, the heart of the cocoa belt. Data showed that the region of Soubre, including San Pedro and Sassandra, received 71.1 millimeters (mm) of rainfall last week, 23.8 mm above average.
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