Farmers in the main cocoa-growing regions of Ivory Coast said on Monday that the mid-crop, which runs from April to September, could finish strong due to above-average rains.
Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, has a rainy season that lasts from April to about the middle of November.
Farmers said the conditions should be ideal for growing small pods and cherelles, but some were concerned that deliveries would be ruined due to insufficient drying.
It rains almost every day. The 109.5 millimeters (mm) of precipitation that fell last week, according to Armand Gode, a local farmer near Soubre, was “good for the trees and young fruit.” This is 71.4 mm above the five-year average.
Farmers in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, as well as the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were significantly above average, predicted a bountiful harvest beginning in mid-August.
Despite below-average precipitation in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, farmers in the center-western region of Daloa reported that the rains were enough to help the trees.
Nothing to be concerned about. Farmers like Albert N’Zue near Daloa reported a bountiful crop of developing young fruit despite 21.5 mm of rain falling last week—3.1 mm less than average.
Temperatures in Ivory Coast ranged between 27 and 30.2 degrees Celsius last week.
