Heavy rains in Ivory Coast bode well for upcoming cocoa crop, say farmers reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
An unusual dry spell persisted across most of Ivory Coast's cocoa-growing regions last week, fuelling farmers' fears that the April-to-September mid-crop could be depleted.
By Reuters Staff
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ABIDJAN, May 10 (Reuters) - Below average rainfall and hot weather last week in most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions could reduce the quality and size of the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.
Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is in its rainy season, which runs from April to mid-November. But rainfall has been irregular in the last two weeks and farmers said beans could be small and acidic by June and July if the conditions persist.
In the centre-western region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of national output, farmers said the harvest could end early unless the weather changes.
Ivory Coast rainfall boosts mid-crop expectations in some areas reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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ABIDJAN, April 19 (Reuters) - Rainfall was mixed last week across Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions, bolstering hopes for a strong April-to-September mid-crop in some areas while others are in need of stronger rains, farmers said on Monday.
The world’s top cocoa producer is in its rainy season, which runs from April to mid-November, with farmers reporting increased numbers of maturing beans as the harvest begins to pick up.
Some saw last week’s dry weather as a positive development, adding that overall quality of the mid-crop would be improved by the ability to sun-dry beans early.
In regions where rainfall was above five-year averages, farmers were optimistic for a strong harvest. Some said that bean quality was in line with expectations, while others counted more pods of high quality than at the same time last year.