ABIDJAN, March 25 (Reuters) - A mix of above and below average rainfall that fell in Ivory Coast's main cocoa-growing regions last week will be sufficient to support the upcoming April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.
The world's top cocoa producer will soon enter its rainy season, which runs officially from April to mid-November.
As the dry season draws to an end, several farmers said temperatures had dropped slightly compared to the previous week and that rainfall had been sufficient to boost cocoa crops.
Many expected mid-crop harvesting to start in early April, with most output concentrated between mid-May and late June.
Some were concerned buyers would reject their first bean deliveries due to their small size, although they said quality would increase from mid-August if rainfall was regular from April.
Rainfall was above average in the western region of Soubre, the southern region of Agboville, in the eastern region of Abengourou and in the centre-western region of Daloa.
"If it rains abundantly from April, trees will have many big pods by August and after," said Antoine Bodje, who farms near Soubre, where 21.4 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 6.9 mm above the average.
Rainfall was below average in the southern region of Divo, where farmers said plenty of cherelles were still growing on trees, indicating an abundant mid-crop from August onwards.
It was also below average in the central regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where farmers said mid-crop harvests would start timidly in April and rise gradually in May before peaking in June.
"We will have less cocoa during the first three months (of the mid-crop) compared to the last season," said Albert N4Zue, who farms near Daloa, where 49.6 mm fell last week, 30.1 mm above the five-year average.
Weekly average temperatures ranged between 28.6 and 32.3 degrees Celsius. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly Editing by Sofia Christensen and Chizu Nomiyama)
