Ample rain and sunshine last week in some of Ivory Coast's cocoa regions should support the crop through the dry season while adverse weather and disease in other areas have raised fears of shortages, farmers said on Monday. The 2014/15 main crop harvest in the world's top cocoa grower began in October and the government fixed a guaranteed farmer price of 850 CFA francs ($1.6) per kg.
In Soubre, the western region in the heart of the cocoa belt, an analyst reported 69 millimetres (mm) of rain last week, compared with 12 mm the previous week. "There's now enough water in the soil to get through the dry season. I don't think the trees will suffer this year and production in the main harvest will be very good," said local farmer Salam Kone.
"There are cocoa bushes everywhere. The pickings are increasing week by week. There are lots of pods to cut down from the trees," said Kone. Farmers reported similar conditions in the southern region of Divo and said the bulk of the crop would be harvested from mid-November, when the dry season starts, to January. The dry season ends in mid-March. "It's really hot. That allows us to dry and store the beans. The buyers are all happy with the quality," said farmer Amadou Diallo. But in the western region of Bouafle, farmers said sparse rainfall could lead to cocoa shortages.
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