Plentiful rain and sun last week in most regions of top cocoa grower Ivory Coast improved prospects for the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday, although eastern regions continued to suffer the effects of a previous dry spell. In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers reported three heavy downpours and said that if the rain continues with good sun, there will be plenty of maturing pods on the trees by mid-July.
"The beans will be of good quality if the rain continues. We will have many more large beans this year than last year during the mid-crop," said Salame Kone, a farmer near Soubre. Farmers said good weather had led to abundant yields in the western regions of Duekoue and Gagnoa, the southern regions of Aboisso, Agboville and Divo and in the coastal region of Sassandra.
In the centre-western region of Daloa, which accounts for about a quarter of national output, farmers reported two heavy rainfalls and sun last week. "The harvests are still small but they will climb in June," said Albert N'Zue, who farms in the outskirts of Daloa. The October-to-March main crop harvest is likely to start early if the rain continues, he added. An Abidjan-based agro-meteorologist told Reuters that starting in late May heavy rains would spread gradually from coastal regions to the rest of the country.