Côte d'Ivoire farmers need more rain to boost cocoa crop

More rainfall is needed in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa-growing regions to boost the October-to-March main crop, farmers said on Monday, adding that the seasonal dry Harmattan wind was moving southward.

The world's top cocoa producer is in its dry season that runs from mid-November to March, when downpours are scarce.

Last week, rains were below average in most of the regions, farmers said, adding that cocoa beans were still leaving the bush and that they would continue to do so until January.

They also said the Harmattan, which was blowing in central regions, was moving southward but it was mild at the moment.

'Very weak rains'

In the west-central region of Daloa and in the central region of Yamoussoukro, where no rain fell last week, and in the central region of Bongouanou, where rainfall was weak, farmers said they were worried about the weather.

They said a prolonged lack of rain mixed with strong winds could weigh on the crop's quality from mid-January.

"The rains are very weak and if the Harmattan becomes strong, we'll have quality problems in January," said Basile Atta, who farms near Bongouanou, where 0.3 millimetre (mm) of rain fell last week, 4mm below the five-year average.

The Harmattan, which usually sweeps in from the Sahara desert between December and March, can dry the soil and harm cocoa pods, making them smaller.

'Enough pods to harvest'

In the western region of Soubre, in the southern region of Divo and Agboville and in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were below average last week, farmers said rains helped the crop even though more downpours could boost it further.

"The trees are doing well and there are still enough pods to harvest," said Salame Kone, who fa rms near Soubre, where 8.3 mm of rain fell last week, 5.7 mm below the five-year average.

Several cocoa buyers told Reuters they were facing logistical problems due to the state of roads leading to San Pedro port.

They said their warehouses in Abidjan port were full of beans but they struggled to ship cocoa to San Pedro.

Average temperatures across the West African country last week ranged from 27 to 27.7 degrees Celsius.

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