Abundant rains and sun last week in Ivory Coast's cocoa growing regions helped many flowers turn into small pods at the end of the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday. The rains were largely welcome for farmers in the world's top cocoa producer, where a long dry season this year lowered expectations for the current mid-crop, although some said the downpours could be too much too soon.
Ivory Coast's rainy season lasts until the end of June, at which point farmers start to prepare for the October-to-March main crop. In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, an analyst reported 45 millimetres of rain this week, compared with 64 mm the previous week.
"The rain has been good since the beginning of June. If it continues until the end of the month we are certain to have a good end to the mid-crop and a good start to the main crop," said Koffi Kouame, who farms in the outskirts of Soubre. In centre-western region Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's national output, farmers reported several downpours interspersed with sun this week. Plentiful rains and good growing conditions were also reported in southern regions Agboville, Divo, and Tiassale; western regions Duekoue and Gagnoa and in coastal region Sassandra.
However, the rain was not greeted by all farmers. Albert N'Zue, who farms near Daloa, said flowers nourished by the rain had already begun to bloom on the trees, which could mean the main crop could arrive too early. In the southern region of Aboisso, Etienne Yao said it appeared flowers would bloom on his trees in the coming days and weeks. But the rains had made it difficult to properly dry the beans already on the trees, he added. "We will have a lot of mould in the beans that we are going to sell," said Yao.