ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Heavy rain last week in Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions has spurred the growth of flowers but more sun is needed to help them develop into small cocoa pods, farmers said on Monday.
Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is in its rainy season which runs from April to mid-November.
The size of the next October-to-March main crop will depend on how many flowers turn into small pods between now and late August, farmers said, adding it was too soon to make a forecast.
Rains were well above average in the western regions of Soubre and Man, the southern regions of Agboville and Divo and the eastern region of Abengourou.
“There is not enough sun. The flowers could fall which would reduce the harvest,” said Kouassi Kouame, who farms near Soubre, where 45.9 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 12.2 mm above the five-year average.
In the eastern region of Abengourou, known for the good quality of its beans, 51.2 mm of rain fell last week, 17.9 above the average.
Farmers in Abengourou said the next harvest looked promising but that they feared crop diseases if the weather remains cloudy and humid.
“There will be lots of cocoa for the main crop if there are not diseases on the trees,” said Paul Konan, who farms near Abengourou.
In the centre-western region of Daloa and in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rain was also above average, farmers said they had no problems to report. They expected a strong end to the mid-crop and a good main crop.
Weekly average temperatures ranged from 24.5 to 26.7 degrees Celsius.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Nellie Peyton)
