World largest cocoa producer hit with quality and supply concerns over poor rains

Nii Ayitey Brown 10:24 - 22 September 2026

Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producer, is facing concerns over cocoa quality and future supply after below-average rainfall hit several key growing regions.

Poor rainfall in major cocoa-growing areas of Côte d’Ivoire is raising concerns about the next harvest and bean quality.
Farmers say young cocoa pods are falling from trees, while cloudy conditions are making it harder to properly dry beans already harvested.
The concerns come after an earlier warning that Côte d’Ivoire’s 2026/27 main crop could be delayed by eight to 10 weeks

Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producer, is facing concerns over cocoa quality and future supply after below-average rainfall was recorded across several major growing areas.

The country is in its rainy season, which normally runs from April to mid-November, but farmers in several cocoa-producing regions say recent rains have not been enough to support the crop according to Reuters.

One of the biggest concern is the effect on small cocoa pods that are developing for next year’s harvest.

Farmers said the lack of enough rain is causing some young pods to fall from trees, raising fears that production could be affected if dry weather continues. They warned that the situation could become more serious if regular rains do not return by mid-October.

“If rains are not regular before mid-October, harvesting for the main crop will end in December,” farmer Kouassi Kouame, who farms near Soubré in western Côte d’Ivoire, told Reuters.

Similar concerns have also been reported in Agboville, Abengourou, Divo, Daloa, Bongouanou and Yamoussoukro, where farmers said rainfall was below normal or, in some places, absent during the week under review.

Farmers in Agboville, Abengourou and Divo said the quality of some beans currently being harvested was becoming a concern because cloudy weather was preventing the beans from drying properly. Proper drying is an important part of preparing cocoa beans for storage and sale.

This trend, if continued, will hand the largest cocoa producer in the world a difficult start to their 2026/27 main cocoa crop.

Africa