Rains returned last week to Ivory Coast’s western cocoa growing region of Daloa after more than a month of dry conditions, farmers said on Monday although worries for the upcoming mid-crop deepened for growers along the coast. Farmers in other western regions said they were happy with current growing conditions. The West African nation is in its dry season, which runs from mid-November to March and generally features sporadic rain. Farmers say plantations need one significant shower per week from January to late February to ensure good bean development and prevent a drop in quality during the first months of the April-to-September mid-crop. Steadily rising world cocoa prices this year have been driven by rising demand and the prospect of a second successive global deficit in 2013/14. May cocoa futures on ICE fell $9 or 0.3 percent to $2,941 a tonne on Monday after peaking at $3,002 a tonne on Friday, its highest level since September 2011. In the region of Daloa, responsible for a quarter of Ivory Coast’s national output, farmers welcomed two abundant showers after a six-week dry spell. “It was time. We’re happy because the trees won’t die,” said Abel Konan, who farms on the outskirts of Daloa. “If we’re lucky enough to have more rain in the weeks to come, we can hope to have some cocoa towards the end of May or the beginning of June,” he said. In the coastal region of San Pedro, however, farmers said it had still not rained. “Nothing has changed here. Everything is dry. I’m so discouraged that I no longer go to the plantation,” said San Pedro farmer Labbe Zoungrana. “The farmers are worried. If this drought persists another month, we can forget about the mid-crop,” he said. In the eastern region of Abengourou, known for the quality of its beans, farmers reported one good downpour compared with one light rain the previous week. “Right now we are seeing a lot of flowers and cherelles (small pods) on the trees. But the mid-crop will be late in many areas here,” said farmer Denis Kablan. In the western region of Soubre, an analyst reported no rain last week, compared with 5 mm the previous week. “The soil moisture is good. Many pods have grown big. If there’s enough rain through to mid-March, we’ll have better quality beans than last season,” said Soubre farmer Salam Kone. “The large number of flowers and cherelles makes us think that we’ll have a long mid-crop here,” he said. In the western region of Duekoue, and in the southern region of Divo, farmers reported two abundant rains and said they were optimistic for the mid-crop. “It’s looking good for the mid-crop. There are enough cherelles. I think that from May we could see a lot of cocoa,” said Amadou Diallo, who farms near Divo.