Cote d'Ivoire’s average cocoa yield may be reduced in quality and harvest time if there isn’t heavy rain this month, because the cocoa regions still have unusually dry weather, farmers said on Monday, May 13.

The rainy season at the world's largest cocoa producer began slowly, and farmers fear that harvest from April to September may be reduced due to lack of rainfall.

Some farmers described this view as too pessimistic, since heavy rains from mid-May will contribute to crop growth. They said they collect a lot of pods and do not expect to see large beans until the end of June.

Data collected by Reuters showed that the rainfall in Subra, including the Sassandra and San Pedro regions, was 5.5 millimeters last week, 28.5 millimeters below the five-year average.

Similar forecasts were made in the southern regions of Agboville and Divo and in the eastern region of Abengourou, where rainfall was also below average. But in the central western region of Daloa, where a quarter of the national produce is produced, farmers are still worried about the weather.

Rainfall in Daloa, including the Buaflet region, was 9 mm last week, 15 mm below the five-year average.