LAGOS: Drier weather in Nigeria's main cocoa-growing regions has increased hopes of a healthy crop this September, after heavy rains subsided to gave farmers breathing space to dry their beans.
Cocoa futures hit multi-month highs on Tuesday, as speculators bought up the key chocolate ingredient on concerns over unfavourable weather in West Africa, the main growing region. They were mostly concerned about lack of rain, although Nigerian farmers have been more worried about too much of it.
Cocoa trees need a delicate balance of rainy and dry weather. Too little rain and they wither; too much, and they become susceptible to pests like insects or fungal black pod disease. Beans can also go mouldy if small farmers are unable to dry them outside.
Cocoa dropped nearly 3 percent on Wednesday, slipping as forecasts of rain for top grower Ivory Coast eased concerns.
In Nigeria, the fourth biggest grower, heavy rainfall in the past two weeks in eastern Nigerian state of Cross Rivers, its second-biggest cocoa growing region, had farmers worrying about bean quality. Besides preventing mould, sunny weather is also needed for bigger bean size.
August typically comes with slightly drier weather, and this year it has ushered in blue skies, which helped to dry the beans and avoid mould, farmers said.
Farmer Nneji Abang told Reuters by phone that early production of the crop had started in Cross Rivers, and that he was expecting a good harvest. He added that production could extend to November if the rains became severe again.
"For now, the weather has been good because of the August break ... we don't expect the rains to come back severely in September when farmers will start harvesting the main crops," Abang said.
Nigeria frequently suffers severe rainfall and flooding.
The dry weather was spread across Nigeria's 14 cocoa-growing regions. Godwin Ukwu, a cocoa association spokesman, said the industry was maintaining its estimates for bean output this season to hit 280,000 tonnes, a projected rise of 40 percent over the 200,000 tonnes achieved last season.
Ibadan, another main cocoa-growing region in southwest Nigeria, is also experiencing dry weather, but grey clouds have blocked out sunshine needed to develop the crops, farmers say.
"We have had cases of flower abortion ... due to the dark sky. It hasn't been raining here for a while," said Robo Adhuse, a Nigeria-based commodity analyst.
But he added there were no concerns about negative overall impact on output, which was expected to be high.
Sunny spells help keep at bay the risk of fungal black pod disease, which affects 30-40 percent of Nigeria's annual output, growers say, while rain showers enhance soil moisture and sustain trees that are flowering.
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