Ivory Coast cocoa farmers fear smaller mid-crop from patchy rains

By Loucoumane Coulibaly

ABIDJAN, May 11 (Reuters) – A spell of patchy and below-average rainfall that continued last week is raising fears of a smaller and lower-quality mid-crop in Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing ​regions as the harvest enters its final stage, farmers ‌said on Monday.

The world’s top cocoa producer is in its rainy season, which typically runs from April to mid-November, but rains have so far been uneven across key growing areas.

Apart from the central-western region of Daloa, which recorded above-average rainfall, ‌most ​farmers said plantations need more moisture to ⁠support pod development. They said ⁠steady rains through late June would be crucial to secure a strong, good-quality harvest between July and August.

Farmers said the next two weeks will be decisive, as a lack of sufficient moisture ​could limit bean size and overall yields.

While enough pods are currently available to sustain harvesting until early July, growers expect more beans ⁠to reach the market in the ⁠coming weeks as picking accelerates.

In Soubre in the west, ​Agboville and Divo in the south, and Abengourou in the east, where ​rainfall remained below average last week, farmers said soil moisture ‌was falling sharply due to heat, increasing stress on trees.

“It’s time for rain, otherwise the trees will lack sufficient water,” said Kouassi Kouame, a farmer near Soubre, which received 15.2 mm of rain last ⁠week, 13.4 mm below the five-year average.

Farmers added that dry conditions were aiding post-harvest processing, with significant volumes of beans harvested last week now being ⁠dried.

In central regions ‌including Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rainfall was also ⁠below average, farmers said persistent cloud cover could signal ​improved ‌rainfall in the days ahead.

“The sky is overcast. ​We think it ⁠will rain well this week to help the trees,” said Christophe Mian, a farmer near Bongouanou, where 8.1 mm fell last week, 15.5 mm below the five-year average.

Weekly temperatures ranged between 29.0 and 32.9 degrees Celsius (84.2 and 91.2 Fahrenheit).

(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Amindeh Blaise Atabong ​and Kevin Liffey)