ABIDJAN, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Above-average rain and some sun in most of Ivory Coast’s main cocoa regions last week could boost the October-to-March main-crop, farmers said on Monday.
Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is in its dry season which runs from mid-November to March when rain is scarce.
But most farmers who spoke to Reuters said the unusual rainfall mixed with sunshine would improve soil moisture and increase the size and quality of the harvest in February and March.
"It rained almost every three days. It's very good for the trees and for the future," said Antoine Boka, who farms near the southern region of Agboville, where 47 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 31 mm above the five-year average.
Rainfall was also well above average in the western region of Soubre, the southern region of Divo and the eastern region of Abengourou, farmers said. They said that harvesting had picked up since October.
In the centre-western region of Daloa and in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, rains were also above average last week, and farmers said the coming crop looked healthy.
They said that if the rainfall remained adequate in December and the dust-filled Harmattan wind came late, the output in February and March could be better than last season.
Average temperatures ranged from 27.2 to 28.9 degrees Celsius (81 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit) in Ivory Coast last week. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly Editing by Edward McAllister and Mark Potter)
