Weather harms Ivorian cocoa

ABIDJAN – A long spell of dry weather in the world’s top cocoa grower Ivory Coast has harmed flowers and small pods and is likely to slash output during the imminent April-September mid crop season, exporters said on Thursday.

Some shippers said production during the mid crop, the second six-month growing cycle of the 2006-2007 season, could fall as low as 200 000 tonnes while others expected a larger harvest of at least 250 000 tonnes. Output during last year’s mid crop, when weather conditions were favourable for the cocoa’s development, surpassed 400 000 tonnes, shippers said.”The climate is generally pretty tough.First came the harmattan (desert wind) in January and now the sun is hitting the development of the flowers and cherelles (small pods),” said the director of foreign exporting company in Abidjan.”Taking all of that into account, I’m thinking of around 200 000 to 225 000 tonnes for this smaller harvest, and that wouldn’t be too bad when you think that we can expect worse if the climate deteriorates further,” he said.The tropical country is currently in its dry season, with rain scarce and temperatures high.Barely any rain fell in January and showers in early February proved short-lived in central areas but are continuing in southwestern areas.Some farmers in the southwest say they are upbeat about the upcoming crop because their plantations are displaying the signs of a good harvest to come, but central-western areas producing the bulk of the cocoa have borne the brunt of the dry weather.”At the moment there are new leaves appearing on the cocoa trees more so than flowers, and even when the flowers appear, many of them die because it’s too hot and there’s not enough rain,” said a buyer for an exporter based in the centre west.Some growers in these driest regions complain that the last few (October-March) main crop pods they are gathering now contain very small beans and say this is due to lack of moisture which they require to swell to full size.Nampa-ReutersOutput during last year’s mid crop, when weather conditions were favourable for the cocoa’s development, surpassed 400 000 tonnes, shippers said.”The climate is generally pretty tough.First came the harmattan (desert wind) in January and now the sun is hitting the development of the flowers and cherelles (small pods),” said the director of foreign exporting company in Abidjan.”Taking all of that into account, I’m thinking of around 200 000 to 225 000 tonnes for this smaller harvest, and that wouldn’t be too bad when you think that we can expect worse if the climate deteriorates further,” he said.The tropical country is currently in its dry season, with rain scarce and temperatures high.Barely any rain fell in January and showers in early February proved short-lived in central areas but are continuing in southwestern areas.Some farmers in the southwest say they are upbeat about the upcoming crop because their plantations are displaying the signs of a good harvest to come, but central-western areas producing the bulk of the cocoa have borne the brunt of the dry weather.”At the moment there are new leaves appearing on the cocoa trees more so than flowers, and even when the flowers appear, many of them die because it’s too hot and there’s not enough rain,” said a buyer for an exporter based in the centre west.Some growers in these driest regions complain that the last few (October-March) main crop pods they are gathering now contain very small beans and say this is due to lack of moisture which they require to swell to full size.Nampa-Reuters