CRA: Weather in Cocoa Growing Areas Through 23 May 2025

CRA has finished placing its Veriground stations throughout the cocoa area of Ghana. To see the reporting sites, visit “Where We Are” at Veriground.

West Africa. Veriground and national stations both report that rain in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana has increased during mid May. Veriground stations report 146 mm compared with 88-131 mm at the same date of the preceding five years. National stations report 162 mm to 20 May compared to a 30-year normal of 141 mm. In Ghana, Veriground stations report 150 mm compared with 71-169 mm during the preceding five years. National stations report 208 mm compared to a 30-year normal of 149 mm.

Residents, crop surveyors, and visitors to Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have reported unusually high temperatures during 2025 in the cocoa areas. Neither national stations of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana nor Veriground stations see unusually high temperatures. A CRA study has found that in the cocoa areas of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, high temperatures have been rising with Global Warming and that the cocoa-area temperatures have been rising 50% or more faster than worldwide temperatures. The rapid rise probably is due to deforestation. Crop surveys have shown a slow start to the 25/26 main crop. Academic studies have found that temperatures that can reduce yields are quite common in the cocoa areas. CRA is investigating the long-term relationship between temperature and yield.

Other areas. There have been no reports from Nigeria. The heavy rain of recent months in Ecuador continues to slow. In Brazil, rain near Bahia’s cocoa area has been fluctuating around normal since early 2025. Conditions in Para have retreated from heavy rain during Jan-Apr (about 350 mm/month) to normal (about 250 mm/mnth).  In contrast to national station reports from West Africa, temperatures reported by national stations in Bahia have been persistently high and temperatures in Para  also have been persistently high.  Temperatures have high for about two years. Rain in Peru’s cocoa area has been cycling around normal since Feb and rain in Sulawesi has been slowing toward normal. ENSO. No change. NOAA expects neutral conditions to continue.