Ivory Coast rain boosts cocoa crop, sun needed to avoid disease

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Heavy rain that continued last week in most of Ivory Coast's main cocoa growing regions will improve the size of the upcoming main crop, farmers said on Monday, but more sun is needed to ward off disease. The 2016/17 marketing season in the world's top cocoa producer will officially open on Oct. 1 with the start of main crop harvesting. A new guaranteed farmgate price, based on forward sales, is due to be set this week. Some farmers said they had already started harvesting and selling small amounts of beans to pay expenses such as children's school fees. In the southern region of Aboisso, farmers said they were optimistic about the main crop outlook but concerned about poor bean quality due to lack of sun. "With the abundant rain we've had, we think the trees will be full of ripe pods from November until January," said Etienne Yao, who farms in Aboisso. "What worries us now is the drying of the beans," Yao said, due to the high risk of mold. In the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers reported heavy rain last week intermixed with sun. "If we get a lot of sun in October, the quality of the beans will be very good," said Kouassi Kouame, who farms in the outskirts of Soubre. Albert N'Zue, a farmer near Daloa, said he expected an abundant harvest because the soil moisture there was good. Good growing conditions were also reported in southern regions Agboville and Divo, in coastal region Sassandra, in eastern region Abengourou and in western region Duekoue. (Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Nellie Peyton)