ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Sunny spells and high soil moisture content compensated for below-average rainfall in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa growing regions last week, farmers said on Monday.
The world’s top cocoa producer is in the midst of a rainy season that runs from April to mid-November, when rains are normally heavy and abundant.
Many farmers said the weather had been unusually dry last week, conditions that would still boost the quality of the April-to-September mid-crop as it would prevent humidity-induced disease.
They expected new pods that would be harvested in the last three months of the season.
“The weather is good for drying and the amount of rainfall will help trees,” said Kouassi Kouame, who farms near the western region of Soubre, where 40.2 millimetres of rain fell last week, 17.2 mm below the five-year average.
In the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, where rains were also below the average, farmers said the dry spell would help them ship beans from the bush as recent rains had damaged some roads.
In the eastern region of Abengourou, farmers said pods were developing well on trees but noted it was difficult to find buyers to collect their beans.
They added that some farmers were struggling to sell their produce at 700 CFA francs ($1.13) per kilogramme, lower than the guaranteed farmgate price of 825 CFA francs ($1.33).
“We are unable to sell. Many buyers say they have reached their targets. Others say they have no cash,” said Blaise Aka, who farms near Abengourou, where 25.3 mm fell last week, 30.7 mm below average.
Farmers were also positive about the mid-crop’s development in the centre-western region of Daloa, the central region of Bongouanou and in the central region of Yamoussoukro – where rains were above average.
“At this stage of the year and given the good state of trees, we do not think there will be any problems with the mid-crop,” said Anatole Koffi who farms near Daloa, where 28.6 mm fell last week, 1.9 mm below average.
Average temperatures ranged from 25.5 to 27.1 degrees Celsius in Ivory Coast last week.
($1 = 622.0000 CFA francs)
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Alison Williams)
