Farmers stated on Monday that the main crop, which grows from October to March, was strengthened by above-average rain that fell in most of the key cocoa-growing districts of Ivory Coast last week. They also noted that there were a lot of cherelle-shaped pods on trees.
The top cocoa producer in the world is currently in its rainy season, which is defined as April to mid-November.
Farmers predicted that the main crop’s harvest would begin gradually in September, pick up steam in October, and then wind down in January. However, they added that September’s heavy rainfall might cause cocoa sickness.
“Everything’s fine with the trees at the moment. If we get enough sunshine over the coming weeks, many cherelles will survive to produce a lot of harvest,” said Raymond Dasse, who farms near the western region of Soubre, where 39.7 millimetres (mm) fell last week, 28 mm above the five-year average.
In the southern areas of Agboville and Divo, as well as the eastern region of Abengourou, where rainfall exceeded typical levels, farmers reported favorable cocoa pod development on trees. They anticipated that the primary cocoa harvest would be concentrated between November and January.
Conversely, in the center-western region of Daloa and the central areas of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rain was below average, farmers indicated positive growing conditions due to sufficient soil moisture content. They projected that substantial quantities of cocoa beans would be harvested from September.
“There are already a lot of large, almost ripe pods on the trees in some areas. But there will be a lot of picking from next month onwards,” said Marc Allangba, who farms near Daloa, where 15.9 mm fell last week, 4.1 mm below the average.
The average temperature in Ivory Coast last week ranged from 24.1 to 26.4 degrees Celsius.