Ivory Coast rains offer good prospect for cocoa main crop, farmers say
ABIDJAN, Sept 2 (Reuters) -Heavy rains in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa-growing regions last week boosted the development of the October-to-March main crop, which is expected to start early and to be longer and larger than last season, farmers said on Monday.
The world's top cocoa producer is in its rainy season which runs officially from April to mid-November. Rains are usually abundant during this period.
Farmers said there were more well-developed pods on trees this season compared to the same period last year.
The weather is helping pods to mature so many will be harvested from October to December, farmers said, adding that the harvesting would reach its peak between mid-November and December.
Farmers told Reuters they would start harvesting cocoa from next week, but they would sell only a small part of their beans.
A larger part will be stocked until an announcement of the new farmgate price, which is expected to be hiked early in October from the current 1,500 CFA francs ($2.55) per kg.
In the western region of Soubre, in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, and in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were well above average last week, farmers said their plantations had yielded well.
They also warned sun was needed to stop the first harvested beans rotting.
"We're well on the way to having plenty of cocoa from September onwards, but we need more sun to dry the beans properly and avoid too many mouldy beans in our deliveries," said Salame Kone, who farms near Soubre, where 20.8 millimetres (mm) fell last week, 4.5 mm above the five-year average.
In the west-central region of Daloa and in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rains were well above average last week, farmers said that though they were expecting the main crop to be good, the rains were strong and the weather often overcast.
"Plantations need more sun to prevent disease," said Albert N’Zue, who farms near Daloa, where 39.3 mm fell last week, 12.4 mm above the five-year average.
Average temperatures across Ivory Coast ranged from 23.6 to 25.6 degrees Celsius over the past week.
($1 = 587.4800 CFA francs)
Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian
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