ABIDJAN: Steady rainfall and a mild onset to seasonal Harmattan winds across Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions should bolster bean quality through next month, farmers and analysts said on Monday.
The 2013-14 season opened in the world's top cocoa grower in October, and exporters estimate that 683,000 tonnes of beans had been delivered to Ivorian ports by Dec. 15, up from 486,000 tonnes during the same period last season.
Farmers told Reuters that current conditions are good, with regular rains continuing in most areas despite the start of the dry season last month.
Still, exporters and merchants believe that Ivorian output may fall off sharply next month as a result of poor weather in the run-up to the start of the 2013/2014 season.
In the western region of Soubre, the heart of the cocoa belt, an analyst reported 51 millimetres of rainfall in the spell, compared with 31 mm the previous week.
"It's very good. We have enough rainfall and the Harmattan isn't too strong," said Lazare Ake, who farms near Soubre.
"Bean quality will be good in January because the soil moisture level is improving," he said. The dry desert Harmattan winds typically sweep down from the Sahara in December.
A strong Harmattan can dry the soil and prevent trees from developing new pods, though it tends to improve the quality of beans already harvested.
Concerns that poor weather across West Africa ahead of the 2013-14 season and rebounding demand will lead to a global deficit have pushed up global prices.
ICE March cocoa eased $6, or 0.2 percent, on Monday to $2,768 a tonne, below a more than two-year high of $2,844 hit earlier this month. In the western region of Gagnoa, an analyst reported 20 mm of rainfall, compared with 81 mm the previous week.
"The Harmattan isn't doing any damage for the moment. These rains we're getting in the middle of the dry season will improve volumes, because there are many small pods that need moisture," Gagnoa farmer Eugene Sery said.
In the central western region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's output, farmers reported patchy rains mixed with sunny spells.
"The Harmattan is better than it was last week. We've had a good chance of having a lot of cocoa if the dry season isn't harsh," said Abel Konan who farms on the outskirts of Daloa.
Farmers in San Pedro and Sassandra farmers said the Harmattan remained mild in the two coastal regions and growers in the eastern region of Abengourou also reported good growing conditions.
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