ABIDJAN, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Above average rains interspersed with sun last week in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions will help the October-to-March main crop finish strong, farmers said on Monday.
Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is in its dry season which runs from mid-November to March.
Farmers across the country said the availability of beans had risen significantly since the start of December compared with the last two months.
If the weather continues to be adequate until late December, the quantity and quality of beans will be good in February and March, they added.
In the western region of Soubre and in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo, where rainfall was above average last week, farmers said that harvesting should pick up sharply from now until late December.
Farmers gave a similar report in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rainfall was below the average.
"The harvest is continuing to improve. There will be lots of cocoa in the month of December," said Salame Kone, who farms near Soubre, where 15.8 millimetres (mm) fell last week, 2.5 mm above the five-year average.
In the centre-western region of Daloa and in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where rainfall was above the average, farmers said that if the dry seasonal Harmattan wind remained mild this season there would be no shortage of beans in February and March.
"There are enough flowers and small pods on the trees. But we are still wondering how the Harmattan will go this year," said Albert N’Zue, who farms near Daloa, where 15.9 mm of rain fell last week, 10.9 mm above the average.
The dry Harmattan wind blows from the Sahara Desert yearly between December and March, and can damage the crop when strong.
The average temperature ranged from 27.5 to 29.4 degrees Celsius in Ivory Coast last week. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Nellie Peyton and Grant McCool)
