Rains in 1st week of June were above average in Côte d’Ivoire prompting optimism that yields will improve and bean size will increase on the April to September crop. The average temperature in the country for the week ranged from 26 to 28.9 degree Celsius.
The rains are welcome, following on from a particularly dry period, even though they are reaching the end of harvesting, farmers in the central-western regions of Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro said that the precipitation will encourage new flowering and improve the mid-august harvest.
The main cocoa belt of Soubre and Divo also reported higher than average rainfall with farmers saying that they expect the size of beans to be larger as a result of the relief.
Bartalks wrote last week that Divo will be the site of a new biomass power station, and the urgency of additional power capacity has been brought into focus by farmers who are concerned about recent power cuts and power rationing which has forced big grinders to limit operations and consequently limit their capacity for processing.
Some farmers are now being forced to store their beans until more grinding capacity comes online, yet they may not have adequate drying or storage facilities and fear that the quality of their beans will deteriorate. A stable power supply is expected next month, and processing capacity should return to normal.
Yet the price they can sell for is still subdued. Although the Living Income Differential is being applied, the government has discounted the country price in order to attract buyers in a market where supply still exceeds global demand.
