Rains and sunshine in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions will help to improve development of the April-to-September mid-crop, which has been battered by strong Harmattan winds and a fierce dry season, farmers said on Monday. The cocoa mid-crop marketing season started on April 1 but unfavourable weather conditions have led farmers to predict a small and delayed mid-crop compared with the previous season. Ivory Coast, the world top cocoa producer, is now officially in the rainy season when rains start to be abundant in coastal regions by April and gradually spread inland.
In the center-western region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's national output, farmers welcomed the third consecutive week of favourable growing conditions.