Falken groups is the best suppliers in copra.Copra, dried sections of the meat of the coconut, the kernel of the fruit of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). ... Copra is valued for the coconut oil extracted from it and for the resulting residue, coconut-oil cake, which is used mostly for livestock feed.
Copra comes from the coconut palm, which grows in tropical regions of the world. Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Brazil are among the world's top coconut producers. The coconut palm is a commercially beneficial plant as it is possible to use all sections of the plant for commercial purposes. Aside from the aforementioned countries, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and some other tropical Pacific islands also produce copra. Malaysia and Mozambique also grow coconut palms yielding copra. Brazil, India, and Sri Lanka are also major copra producers. The coconut palm is more often grown by smallholders in their private fields although large plantations of coconut palms also exist.
Copra has traditionally been grated and ground then boiled in water to extract coconut oil. It was used by Pacific island cultures and became a valuable commercial product for merchants in the South Seas and South Asia in the 1860s. This 19th-century copra trading inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's 1893 novella The Beach of Falesá, based on his experiences in Samoa. Nowadays, the process of coconut oil extraction is performed by crushing copra to produce coconut oil (70%); the by-product is known as copra cake or copra meal (30%).
Once the oil is extracted, the remaining coconut cake is 18–25% protein but contains so much dietary fiber it cannot be eaten in large quantities by humans. Instead, it is normally fed to ruminants.
Coconuts sun-dried in Kozhikode, Kerala, India for the production of copra
Copra kiln drying in La Digue (Seychelles).
Crushing copra in La Digue (Seychelles).
The production of copra – removing the shell, breaking it up, drying – is usually done where the coconut palms grow. Copra can be made by smoke drying, sun drying, or kiln drying. Hybrid solar drying systems can also be used to for a continuous drying process. In a hybrid solar drying system, solar energy is utilized during daylight and energy from burning biomass is used when sunlight is not sufficient or during night.Sun drying requires little more than racks and sufficient sunlight. Halved nuts are drained of water, and left with the meat facing the sky; they can be washed to remove mold-creating contaminants. After two days the meat can be removed from the shell with ease, and the drying process is complete after three to five more days (up to seven in total). Sun drying is often combined with kiln drying, eight hours of exposure to sunlight means the time spent in a kiln can be reduced by a day and the hot air the shells are exposed to in the kiln is more easily able to remove the remaining moisture. This process can also be reversed, partially drying the copra in the kiln and finishing the process with sunlight. Starting with sun drying requires careful inspection to avoid contamination with mold while starting with kiln-drying can harden the meat and prevent it from drying out completely in the sun.
In India, small but whole coconuts can be dried over the course of eight months to a year, and the meat inside removed and sold as a whole ball. Meat prepared in this fashion is sweet, soft, oily and is cream-coloured instead of being white. Coconut meat can be dried using direct heat and smoke from a fire, using simple racks to suspend the coconut over the fire. The smoke residue can help preserve the half-dried meat but the process overall suffers from unpredictable results and the risk of fires.
While there are some large plantations with integrated operations, copra remains primarily a smallholder crop. In former years copra was collected by traders going from island to island and port to port in the Pacific Ocean but South Pacific production is now much diminished, with the exception of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu
Coconut butter:
The copra is cut into chunks and run through the press to shred the copra pieces. Repeating this process turns the shredded coconut into a buttery consistency. This is called coconut butter and is used as a vegan butter replacing the regular dairy butter. It is also used in baking and in the preparation of desserts and sorbets. It has excellent moisturizing properties and is used in the manufacture of soaps, shampoos, hair masks and body scrubs.
Coconut oil:
The copra that is cut into chunks and sent through a press is processed to form the coconut butter. Repeating this process helps to extract the oil from the butter. This oil is called virgin coconut oil and is used for cooking and in the manufacture of several cosmetics.
Copra meal:
After extracting coconut oil, the leftover residue of the copra or coconut butter is called as the copra meal or copra cake. This desiccated coconut waste is an effective by-product of copra and is used as a nutritious fodder for livestock. The advantage of using copra meal as animal feed is that it is abundant and cheap. Copra has high protein content and is used as a primary product in horse feed. It improves the skin texture in horses, conditions the body and improves the shiny coat on the skin of horses. It is used in pig diet to increase the growth rate of the pigs. It is also used as poultry feed to increase growth rates. Soaked copra meal is used as a feed for fish. Researches show that using soaked copra meal in the diet of Nile Tilapia fingerlings has improved the growth and nutrient utilization of the fish. This has resulted in the cost reduction of the fish. The fish also thrive well with soaked copra meal as a part of their regular diet. In villages, copra meal alone is used as a food for home reared ornamental fish like Guppies. The copra meal is tied up in a tiny mesh and left soaked in the water tank. The fish feed on the soaked meal every now and then. This considerably reduces the fish feed costs.
These are some of the conservative uses of copra that is a product of matured coconut.
Common uses of copra
1. Coconut oil is commonly used in baking and cooking
2. Coconut oil is a favorite ingredient in beauty products for its moisture and texture
3. The coconut cake produced by making copra is commonly used as livestock food
4. Coconut scent is widely used in products such as candles and soaps
5. Coconut oil is an edible fat comparable to butter or margarine
Global Market
Copra, more specifically the coconut oil extracted from copra, has a global market. In 2002, 1822 million metric tons of coconut oil were exported from copra producing nations of the world. The small Pacific Islands often suffer dominance by the large-scale producers of copra like Philippines, Indonesia, and others. The European Union helps these isolated island countries by implementing a preferential tariff system, which boosts exports from these countries. Coconut oil exports are also facing intense competition from other, cheaper plant oil sources like the palm oil. Coconut farmers across the world are thus seeking for intervention on the part of their governments to receive subsidies in the price coconut oil to offer the product at more lucrative prices in the world market. There is also a need of technological improvements in the copra plantations to improve copra yields.
The world's largest importers of coconut oil include the European Union, the United States, Malaysia, China, and Korea. In 2018, the European Union alone imported 475,000 metric tons of coconut oil. The popularity of this flexible substance does not seem to show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Coconut Oil Market: Key Players
1. Windy City Organics
2. Premier Organics Inc.
3. The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.
4. Windmill Organics
5. Wichy Plantation Company (Pvt) Ltd
6. ANDY ALBAO CORPORATION
7. The HallStar Company
8. Marico Limited
This study by TMR is all-encompassing framework of the dynamics of the market. It mainly comprises critical assessment of consumers' or customers' journeys, current and emerging avenues, and strategic framework to enable CXOs take effective decisions.
