Light rain helps Ivorian main cocoa crop

Light or patchy rain fell across many of the main cocoa growing regions in Ivory Coast last week, conditions that will encourage a healthy 2009/10 main crop if accompanied by further sunny spells, farmers said on Monday. Farmers in the world's top cocoa grower said they needed more sunshine to ensure the small pods, due to be harvested from early September onwards, develop fully and are not damaged by humidity and disease.
Traders in world markets are eyeing Ivory Coast's main crop, which starts in October, after a disappointing season last year due to a combination of bad weather conditions, disease and administrative chaos. "The rain was light, which I am sure will be good for the main crop," said Attoungbre Kouame, a farmer in Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's cocoa. "Plenty of pods are already ripe. The planters will start harvesting from next week and in two weeks plenty of beans will start coming out (of the bush)," he added.
The 2008/09 crop is set to close some 15 percent down on last year's levels after the mid crop failed to make up ground lost earlier in the season. "It rained in places. The rain was light and there was some sun but the trees need more," said one analyst working for an industrial plantation in the western region of Soubre. "I think that there is enough moisture in the air and the ground to ensure the pods develop through until the end of October, even if there is no more rain," the analyst added.
Too much rain and not enough sun ahead of last year's main crop led to the spread of disease and pods not fully developing. "There are lots more small pods on the trees compared to this time last year," said Koffi Kouame who farms near Soubre, which is at the heart of the cocoa belt. "If we have enough sun during the month of September, there will be plenty of cocoa to harvest during the main crop."
In the southern regions of Aboisso, Agboville and Divo, farmers said growing conditions remained good with patchy rains supporting the main crop but they feared cold spells at the end of the week could hit the development of pods. "We don't need too much rain ... it is only raining in certain areas. We are nervous about the cool weather. If it lasts a long time, the pods will not develop properly," said Etienne Yao who farms in Aboisso.