Exporters estimated around 16,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state's two ports of Abidjan and San Pedro between Feb. 25 and March 3, up from 10,000 tonnes in the same week a year ago.

Harvesting from the latter stages of the October-to-March main crop has outpaced last season's volumes during the same period, leading an output deficit to shrink in recent weeks.

The gap had fallen to just 2.8 percent by last week.

Data from Ivory Coast's cocoa regulator obtained by Reuters during the same week last year, however, showed that arrivals were officially at 995,071 tonnes by Feb. 26.

The figures were higher than estimates had previously shown, and when compared to this season indicate a deficit of nearly 6.6 percent.

Meanwhile, exporters said the past month's trend of relatively robust arrivals was unlikely to continue, as poor bean quality caused by two months of dry, hot weather was causing many deliveries to be rejected at the ports.

"I was expecting less this week but I think that this level of volumes is over because what is arriving now is nearly all being turned away," said the director of a European export company based in San Pedro.

Bean size has been shrinking steadily over the past month and deliveries now often contain bean counts - a measure of beans per 100 grammes used to calculate size well above the threshold allowed for export.

Exporters said free fatty acid (FFA) levels were now reaching between 5 and 7 percent.

The government-fixed maximum limit is 1.75 percent.

"I think that the FFA level will remain the same until the rains come back and the beans' water content gets back to normal," said the director of an Abidjan-based European export firm.

"That could be the case towards July it rains between now and May," he said.

Despite a disappointing main crop this season, many cocoa traders are counting on a strong April-to-September mid-crop harvest.

However, exporters told Reuters they remained concerned that this year's particularly harsh dry season could negatively affect output for the remainder of the season.

"We are now expecting arrivals of around 10,000 tonnes (per week) from March to May when the mid-crop will really get going," said the director of an international exporter in Abidjan.

"And even then it may not be that good given the current weather conditions," he said.