ABIDJAN (Reuters) -A persistent cold spell across most of Ivory Coast’s cocoa-growing regions could jeopardize the development of the next October-to-March main crop, farmers warned on Monday, saying plantations need more sunshine and rain.
The world’s largest cocoa producer is in the middle of the rainy season, which runs officially from April to mid-November. Rains are typically abundant during this period, but last week were well below average.
Farmers told Reuters the crop was developing well at the moment, cautioning that cold weather could prevent trees from reaching their maximum potential.
Growers said there was a good mix of small, average and big, almost ripe pods on trees. In some regions, farmers said bean supply was very tight, but that availability would rise from mid-August.
Without more rainfall and sunshine in the coming weeks, farmers said some young pods, known as cherelles, could fall from branches, affecting the crop outlook.
“Plantations need more rain and sunshine,” said Kouassi Kouame, who farms near the western region of Soubre, where just 1.6 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 10.4 mm below the five-year average.
Similar comments were reported in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, and in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were well below average. Farmers there said in the next two weeks they were expecting more rain and sunshine that would boost the crop.
In the west-central region of Daloa, in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rains were also well below average, farmers said the crop was developing well for now.
Farmers added that some growers had started to stockpile the few harvested beans they had, hoping to hold onto them until early October when a new marketing price will be set.
They expect the price to be significantly higher than the current 2,200 CFA francs ($3.90) per kg. Farmers said the government would opt for a big price hike in order to encourage growers to vote for it in October’s presidential election.
“The quantities coming from the bush will increase this month. But very few farmers will want to sell,” said Celestin Goli, who farms near Daloa, where 3.4 mm of rain fell last week, 16.1 mm below the average.
Weekly average temperatures across Ivory Coast last week ranged from 24.3 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit) to 27.9 C (82 F).
($1 = 564.0000 CFA francs)
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian and Helen Popper)
