Abidjan: No rain last week in most cocoa growing regions of Côte d’Ivoire and seasonally dry and strong winds in the central region have raised concerns about the quality and size of the mid-harvest between April and September, it said. Farmer said on Monday.
Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producer, has a dry season that lasts from around mid-November to around March, with little rainfall.
Dry harmattan winds blow from the Sahara Desert at various times between December and March and can damage crops when the winds are strong.
Farmers in the central region said harmattan has increased in intensity.
Without enough rainfall this week or next, the final stages of the main crop could suffer from poor quality, farmers said.
If harmattan remains strong through February and rainfall is low, damaging flowers and pods, there may also be fewer low quality beans at the start of the midcrop.
“Farmers are worried. The harmattan is getting stronger and it’s not raining. It’s not good for the cocoa,” said Roger Coffey, a farmer near the Midwest region of Daloa.In Daloa. It was down 0 millimeters (mm) last week, 2.7mm below the five-year average.
There was no rain last week in the western region of Soubre, the southern regions of Agbovil and Dibo, and the eastern region of Abengoro. Farmers there said harmattan is not yet a concern and the availability of beans is good.
“We are in the last big harvest,” said Salame Kone, a farmer near Soubre, who fell 0mm last week, 4.9mm below average.
Temperatures in Ivory Coast last week ranged from 25.2 to 26.5 degrees Celsius. -AFPMore
