Ivory Coast rains boost outlook for cocoa mid-crop

A second straight week of abundant showers and sunshine across Ivory Coast's principal cocoa regions is improving growing conditions ahead of the April-to-September mid-crop harvest, farmers and analysts said on Monday. The world's top grower is emerging from a harsh dry season marked by extreme heat and very little rainfall. And while output is lagging compared with last season, traders are counting on a robust mid-crop to close the gap.
In the eastern region of Abengourou, one analyst reported 179 millimetres of rainfall compared with none the previous week. "We had a number of heavy showers along with sunshine. These are the first rains of the year. It will help the foliage to become green again, but it must continue," said Denis Kablan, who farms near Abengourou.
"The soil was very dry and the trees were very tired. With these rains, the soil moisture content will improve and the trees will start to produce flowers," he said. In the western region of Soubre, an analyst reported 75 mm of rainfall last week, compared with 49 mm the previous week. "We are very happy. We've had good rainfall for two weeks now. There are some flowers and cherelles (small pods) on the trees, but with the recent rains we expect many more in the next two weeks," said Soubre farmer Salam Kone.
Similar growing conditions were also reported in the centre-western region of Daloa and the western region of Gagnoa. "We got two showers. It's good but it has to continue each week this month for a good mid-crop," said Desire M'Bra, who farms near Daloa, which is responsible for a quarter of Ivory Coast's total cocoa output. "There aren't many flowers or charelles on the trees, because the dry season was so harsh. But we can feel that there will be cocoa in the region from May," he said.
Farmers in the southern region of Divo reported only isolated showers, while in the coastal region of San Pedro, farmers said they were concerned by the continuing lack of rainfall. "We want rain. The trees are struggling, and many leaves have fallen off. It's not good for the mid-crop. If it doesn't rain this week, we'll be very behind for the mid-crop production," said San Pedro farmer Labbe Zoungrana.