Plentiful rains across Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions over the past week have raised hopes for a healthy April-September mid crop, farmers and analysts said this week. After a disappointing main crop due to bad weather, disease, and administrative disorder, farmers hope an above-average mid crop will make up some of their profit shortfall.
"We had 19 mm of rain during the course of the week. That's very good because the rain came at a good time, which should make for a good mid crop," said one analyst working for an industrial plantation near Soubre, in the western cocoa belt.
After a mostly dry January across much of the country, rains returned last week, which should strengthen cocoa trees. "Farmers around here are very happy. The rains have wet the soil well, and the trees have enough water to produce the flowers which should ripen into pods in time for the mid crop," said Salam Kone who farms near Soubre.
"There are flowers and cherelles (young pods) on the trees, which bodes well for the mid crop. Good quantities of cocoa are continuing to come out of the interior," he said. Ivory Coast's main crop season began chaotically in October after senior industry officials were removed in a graft probe. Due to a combination of weather conditions and disease, the main crop has lagged last year, and is unlikely to catch up, even though arrivals at the country's two ports are now outpacing those of a year ago. Expectations for the full 2008/09 crop have fallen to around 1 million tonnes from around 1.3 million tonnes in recent years.
Worries over the crop in Ivory Coast and neighbouring No 2 grower Ghana, which between them account for around 60 percent of world production, have helped push benchmark US cocoa futures up 44 percent in the past three months. London futures, boosted by a weak pound sterling, hit a 24-year high of 2,023 pounds per tonne in January. London May futures were down 12 pounds at 1,927 pounds per tonne just after noon GMT on Tuesday, while the New York contract was down $47 at $2,780.
In the centre-western region of Daloa, which grows a quarter of Ivory Coast's cocoa, farmers said there were three heavy rainfalls during the week. "That gives us hope for the mid crop, because flowering has been slow and the trees needed some water," said Magloire Gnankan, whose farm is on the outskirts of Daloa town. "The main crop has been disappointing here. Farmers have not got many beans to sell. Many of them are on their plantations pulling out weeds or spraying pesticides. They are hoping the mid crop will enable them to catch up," he said.