Ivory Coast's cocoa farmers expect good mid-crop

Adequate moisture levels in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa growing regions boosted the April-to-September mid-crop last week despite below-average rains, farmers said on Monday.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is entering its rainy season which runs officially from April to mid-November, when rains are abundant and often heavy.

Most growers across the cocoa regions said the moisture level aided the development of plenty of young fruit currently on trees and that abundant weekly rains through April would yield better quality crops that would aid healthier, larger and longer crops.

They complained about a feeble harvest but say signs on trees showed that volumes from the bush would rise gradually from mid-April until mid-July.

Farmers said harvesting has begun, but many are hesitant to sell their first beans, expecting the farmgate price to rise above the current 1,800 CFA francs (R54.36) per kg when the mid-crop season opens on April 2.

"Everyone is hoping to have lots of cocoa. We now need heavy rains for the mid-crop yield to be very good," says Desire Yao, who farms near the west-central region of Daloa, where 9.6mm of rain fell last week, 10.8mm below the five-year average.

Similar comments were reported in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rains were below average. In those regions, farmers said they were happy with moisture levels.

In the western region of Soubre, in the southern region of Agboville and in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were well below average — and in the southern region of Divo, where rains were well above average — several growers were drying their first beans in good conditions due to sunny weather.

Farmers in those regions said a good mix of sun and rain from April would make way for plenty of big and average pods to ripen between May and June and raise supply availability.

"In a month's time, the harvest will be abundant. We'll have plenty of cocoa — Maybe even more than last season," said Kouassi Kouame, who farms near Soubre, where 10.7mm of rain fell last week, 6mm below the average.

The weekly average temperature ranged from 28 to 31.3°C.