Ivory Coast cocoa helped by rain, mild Harmattan wind

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Unusually heavy rain and a mild Harmattan dry wind last week in Ivory Coast's main cocoa regions brightened the outlook for the last stage of the main crop, but the dry season elsewhere could tighten supply, farmers and analysts said on Monday. Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is in the dry season that runs from mid-November to March, when the dusty Harmattan wind that usually blows from the Sahara from December to March hits cocoa farming. The 2014/15 main crop harvest opened on Oct. 1 and farmers expect an abundant harvest of quality beans until the end of January. In the western region of Soubre, in the heart of the cocoa belt, an analyst reported 43 millimetres of rain compared with none the previous week and a mild Harmattan. "This rain will mitigate the effects of the Harmattan and we expect to have enough good quality cocoa in February or March," said Lazare Ake, who farms in the outskirts of Soubre. "The drying conditions are good because there is lots of sun and the cocoa is being delivered this week because farmers want to ensure they have enough (money) for the end of the year," Ake said. Farmers reported good prospects with patchy rain and sunny spells in the western region of Duekoue. "There should be good quality cocoa until January. But if the dry season is strong and the Harmattan brutal in the coming weeks, the quality will be grow weaker," said farmer Amara Kone. In the centre-west region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's output, farmers reported no rain and a mild Harmattan. Daloa farmer Attoungbre Kouame said it was the dry season and there were two good harvests to do by mid-January before the harvest gets smaller. "It is very hot and if the Harmattan becomes strong the trees will start to lose their leaves which is not good for the part of the season that comes next," said Kouame. Similar conditions were reported in the southern region of Divo.