Light rains in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions augur well for the crop in the world's biggest producer, farmers said on Monday, but cloudy weather has stoked fears of disease in the south. Farmers need the right mix of rain and sunny spells in July and August to strengthen the development of pods and avoid cocoa rot and disease ahead of the main crop, which runs from October to March.
In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, an analyst reported 65 millimetres of rain last week, compared with no rain the previous week. "We are happy with the rain. It will help many small pods to grow and to be of good quality for the main crop," said Kouassi Kouame, a cocoa farmer on the outskirts of Soubre.
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