Light rains, sunny spells help Ivory Coast's cocoa crop
ABIDJAN, Nov 25 (Reuters) -Below-average rains mixed with long sunny spells in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions gave a boost to the October-to-March main crop last week, farmers said on Monday, adding that a mild Harmattan wind started blowing in some central regions.
The world's top cocoa producer is in its dry season that runs from mid-November to March, when downpours are scarce.
Farmers said the weather was helping them to dry beans properly and that they would continue to harvest big pods until late January.
However, they added that temperatures were rising and that plantations would need more rainfall in December.
Buyers are not yet complaining about cocoa quality, farmers said.
"More rain is needed in December, otherwise some cocoa trees may start to weaken," said Joel Kanga, who farms near the central region of Yamoussoukro, where 0.5 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 6.1 mm below the five-year average.
Similar comments were reported in the west-central region of Daloa and in the central region of Bongouanou, where rains were also below average.
Farmers in Yamoussoukro and Bongouanou said they could already feel the seasonal dry Harmattan wind, although it was still mild.
The Harmattan, which usually sweeps in from the Sahara desert between December and March, can harm cocoa pods and dry the soil, making beans smaller.
In the western region of Soubre, the southern regions of Agboville and Divo and the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were below average, farmers said beans would be of small size and poor quality from February if precipitation remained scarce next month.
"There's still a lot of harvesting to be done, but we need enough rain to maintain good quality," said Salame Kone, who farms near Soubre, where 15.2 mm of rain fell last week, 1.4 mm below the five-year average.
Average temperatures across the West African country last week ranged from 27.3 to 28.6 degrees Celsius.
Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian, Kirsten Donovan
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