Ivory Coast cocoa farmers welcome heavy rain in central regions

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Unusually heavy rain last week in Ivory Coast's central cocoa-growing regions will improve bean quality for the April-to-September mid-crop, while more rain is needed elsewhere, farmers said on Monday. Farmers in Ivory Coast's central cocoa-growing regions said on Monday that unusually heavy rain last week will improve bean quality for the April to September mid-crop, while more rain is needed elsewhere. The world's top producer of cocoa, Ivory Coast, is about to enter the wet season, which lasts from April to mid-November. Farmers all over the nation reported that the mid-crop harvest had begun tentatively but would pick up by mid-April. According to farmers, the crop's size and quality will be greatly influenced by the weather in the following month. Farmers in Daloa's central, western, and central regions, where rainfall was significantly above average last week, said the additional moisture would be beneficial for growth.

"The trees are full of small and medium-sized pods. If the rain is regular from April, we will have lots to harvest during the mid-crop," said Robert Adou, who farms near Yamoussoukro, where 52.7 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 35.9 mm above the five-year average. ` Rainfall was below average in the western region of Soubre, the southern regions of Agboville and Divo and the eastern region of Abengourou. "The harvest has started. We need more rain for the beans to grow big in the coming weeks," said Andre Yavo, who farms near Agboville, where 13.7 mm of rain fell last week, 2.9 mm below the average. Average temperatures ranged from 27.8 to 32.6 degrees Celsius in Ivory Coast last week.