Heavy rainfall mixed with spells of sunshine in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions last week, augured well for the development of the country's main crop harvest at the start of the 2013/2014 season, farmers said on Monday. The cocoa season officially opened early this month in the world's top cocoa grower, with the announcement of a government guaranteed farmgate price of 750 CFA francs ($1.55) per kg for the October-to-March main crop.
Farmers said pods to be harvested in November and December were already on trees and good soil moisture, if supported by continuous rainfall every week until mid-November, would boost the size and quality of beans in January and February. Some exporters had slashed their forecast for the main crop but farmers said they were happy with the sunshine which has reduced concerns over the spread of black pod disease in several areas.
In the southern region of Divo, farmers reported three abundant rainfalls mixed with sunny spells which could potentially boost January harvest, but the cold dry weather ahead of the start of the harvest may stunt the size of the first three months of the main crop. "Flowers are still sprouting and if it rains until November, we'll have good quality cocoa in January but not as much as last year," said Amadou Kone who farms in the outskirts of Divo. In the coastal region of San Pedro, farmers said it also rained during the spell.
In the eastern region of Abengourou, near the border with Ghana, the world's number two producer, an analyst reported 31 millimeters of rainfall, compared with 89 mm the previous week. "Farmers are happy with the rainfall. We will have a abundant pods to harvest until the end of the year," said Marcellin N'Da who farms near Abengourou.
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