copra

The dried kernel of the coconut. In the 1860s, to supplement supplies of animal fats, manufacturers of soap, margarine, and lubricants turned to tropical vegetable oils, especially coconut oil. At first traders bought oil from local people, but later plantations were set up to produce copra, from which the oil is extracted by crushing. The Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Malaysia, and the Pacific islands have been the largest producers.

Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut.

Coconut oil is extracted traditionally by grating or grinding copra, then boiling it in water. Nowadays, the process of coconut oil extraction is done by crushing copra to produce coconut oil, and the by-product is known as cake.

Making copra — removing the shell, breaking up, drying — usually is done where the palms grow. Today, large plantations with integrated operations have appeared, but in former years copra was collected by traders going from island to island and port to port in the Pacific Ocean.

India: Tiptur in Tumkur District (Karnataka state) is very famous for its copra.