Unseasonal rainfall across Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions last week is expected to help the October-to-March main cocoa crop end on a strong note, farmers said on Monday, according to Reuters.
Although the world’s largest cocoa producer is currently in its dry season, which typically runs from mid-November to March with limited rainfall, farmers reported that the recent showers have improved conditions for cocoa trees to reach their full production potential in February and March.
“It is raining heavily. This is very good for the rest of the (marketing) campaign,” said Edouard Bogui, a farmer near the western town of Soubre.
The area recorded 25.3 millimetres of rain last week, which was 21 millimetres above the five-year average.
Farmers said that while harvesting is expected to slow from mid-January, bean volumes and quality in February and March should be higher than during the same period last season.
In the west-central region of Daloa and the central areas of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rainfall also exceeded seasonal averages, farmers said significant quantities of cocoa beans would continue to be harvested until late March.
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“There will be no sudden interruption in harvesting until March because there are still enough pods on the trees,” said Etienne Kanga, a farmer near Daloa. The area received 11.1 millimetres of rain last week, 8.9 millimetres above the five-year average.
In the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, as well as the eastern region of Abengourou, where rainfall was well above average, farmers said weather conditions were supporting healthy crop development and leading to high bean availability.
Farmers added that from mid-January, attention would gradually shift toward the development of the April-to-September mid-crop. Weekly average temperatures across Ivory Coast last week ranged between 27.7 and 30.7 degrees Celsius, or 81.86 to 87.26 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Image Credit: CNBC Africa
