Ivory Coast cocoa farmers confident on rains forecast

Ivory Coast cocoa farmers are confident forecast rains will bolster the ongoing mid-crop harvest, despite below-average rainfall in the country's main growing regions last week. The mid-crop runs from April to September in Ivory Coast, which is the world's top cocoa producer. Farmers said on Tuesday that soil moisture is good and should improve in coming weeks.
"Overall, things are okay. There are good rains and sunshine and the trees are in good shape," Amadou Diallo, who farms in the southern region of Divo, said. "Farmers have harvested a lot this month. There will be even more abundant harvests until July," Diallo added.
Data collected by Reuters showed that Divo received 18.3 millimeters (mm) of rainfall last week, 15.4 mm below average. In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers said the mid-crop would finish strong if rainfall improved.
"We need strong rainfall with lots of sun to finish the mid-crop with large harvests," Salame Kone, who farms in Soubre, said. "There are lots of large pods on the trees and we think that the harvests will be larger next month," Kone added.
Data showed that rainfall in Soubre, including the cities of San Pedro and Sassandra, was 18.6 mm last week, 23.4 mm below average. In the centre-western region of Daloa, which accounts for a quarter of Ivory Coast's output, farmers said the weather was contributing to the development of small pods.
"We will have significant volumes of cocoa near the end of the mid-crop," Raphael Kouame, who farms in Daloa, said. Data collected by Reuters showed that rainfall in Daloa reached 31 mm last week, 6.3 mm above average.
In the southern region of Aboisso, farmers said conditions were dry but had improved in the last week. Data showed that rainfall in Aboisso, which includes the town of Abengourou was 30.4 mm last week, 10.1 mm below average.
In the region of Agboville, farmers were upbeat about mid-crop prospects. Data showed that rainfall in Agboville region was at 34.6 mm last week, 7.5 mm below average. Temperatures across the cocoa regions ranged last week from 26.5 to 30.1 degrees Celsius.