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Rains scarce in Ivory Coast cocoa regions last week

Rains were limited in the majority of leading grower Ivory Coast's primary cocoa areas last week and more are needed to improve the ApriltoSeptember midcrop, farmers said on Monday.

Ivory Coast, the world's leading producer of the main component in chocolate, has its dry season from mid-November to March when rainfall is poor.

Cocoa prices hit record highs last month buoyed by worries that dry weather in West Africa might lead to a 4th successive global deficit this season.

Farmers informed Reuters that as flowers and cherelles, which develop into cocoa pods, were proliferating on trees more wetness was required to assist them make it through and turn into bean-producing pods.

They added that if the dry conditions continue, flowers and cherelles could shrivel and potentially reduce the size of the mid-crop harvest

Bean supplies from the October-to March main crop harvest. are tailing off, farmers said.

Cocoa beans arrivals at Ivory Coast's two primary ports for the week of Jan. 13-19 were at 34,000 metric loads, compared to 41,000 loads for the same week the previous season, exporters' information showed on Monday.

In the centre-western area of Daloa and the central areas of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where no rain fell last week, farmers said they were worried as the absence of rain might compromise cocoa trees with leaves drying on trees.

If it does not rain, the mid-crop harvest will begin late and we'll not get enough cocoa beans, said Maurice N'Da, who farms near Daloa, where 0 millimetres (mm) fell last week, 1.2 mm below the five-year average.

In the western area of Soubre and the southern areas of Divo, where second-rate rains were last week, and Agboville, and the eastern area of Abengourou, where no rain fell last week, farmers said it was still too early to be pessimistic.

In Soubre, 2.1 mm of rains was tape-recorded last week, 1.1 mm listed below the five-year average. The weekly average temperature level throughout the country varied from 27.7 to 29.1 degrees Celsius.

(source: Reuters)