Rainfall was patchy in Ivory Coast's cocoa growing areas last week but weather conditions remained good for pod production in the world's top producer of the bean, farmers said on Monday.
In the centre-western Daloa region and around the coastal towns of Sassandra and San Pedro, farmers said there had been no rain during the week but good showers in the last few weeks would sustain the plants.
"There was no rain last week," said farmer Attoungbre Kouame whose farm is on the outskirts of Daloa, where a dry spell spanning from late November until March has cut pod output in an area which usually turns out a quarter of total production.
There have been regular rains in Daloa and most other growing zones for two months. Kouame said the sky was overcast and he expected more rain this week.
The late arrival of rains has delayed production during the April-September mid crop, the smaller of two six-month growing cycles each year, and farmers do not expect the season's lower-than-usual production to peak until June or even July.