Oils and Fats. 



222 



[March, 1909. 



Ceylon Copra obtains a better price 

 chiefly because the large majority of 

 coconut estates there are owned by 

 Europeans and under European man- 

 agement, and every care is taken to turn 

 out Copra of first quality, 



The Pacific Islands Copra maintains 

 its advantage in price principally because 

 Messrs. Lever Bros, and other well- 

 known soap manufacturers have exten- 

 sive interests there. They have repre- 

 sentatives on the spot who insist on first- 

 class Copra being supplied, and in return 

 pay the highest price. 



The difference in price between good 

 and bad Copra in Singapore is about 

 SI per picul. The present price for first 

 quality is about $7 - 50. As the price rises 

 it is customary for many native and 

 Chinese growers to resort to the inju- 

 rious practice of rushing quantities of 

 unripe badly dried Copra on the market 

 in order to catch the higher rate. This 

 is a practice which cannot be too 

 strongly condemned. 



The principal sources of supply are 

 Dutch Borneo, the Natunas and Anam- 

 bas Islands, Johore, the Malay Penin- 

 sula, and the Dutch Islands generally. 



Singapore produces over 3,00C piculs 

 of Copra per month chiefly from Tan- 

 jong Katong and Passir Panjang. This, 

 with the exception of a small quantity 

 from European estates, is badly dried 

 and contains a large percentage of un- 

 ripe nut. 



Dutch Copra from Billeton and 

 Banka is principally kiln-dried and 

 arrives clean, well dried and of goud 

 quality. 



That from Padang, Sumatra, is in 

 small pieces well ripened, dry, dark and 

 oily in appearance and contains more 

 oil than any other Copra imported to 

 Singapore. This is due to careful culti- 

 vation and none but well-matured nuts 

 being gathered. 



The Celebes give us a good Copra, well 

 dried from fully matured nuts, yields 

 an excellent oil and shews careful 

 preparation. 



Asahan exports fine large Copra, ripe 

 and fairly well dried both by sun andkilu. 



Pontianak produces dry Copra of fair 

 quality containing a small percentage 

 of unripe nut. 



Saigon (Singkawang) Copra is of good 

 quality, dry, and shews careful pre- 

 paration. 



Ternate Islands Copra is very good, 

 generally dry. Kelantan Copra is good, 

 but that from Johore (Batu Pahat) is 

 very wet, unripe andmouldy. Rhio sends 

 good samples of Copra but occasionally 

 the quality cannot be depended on. 



I have recently seen shipments from 

 Malacca and Muar which were very baJ 

 indeed, in fact it is said that Copra from 

 these two places is the worst sent in to 

 Singapore. In one store I saw several 

 lots heating so badly that it was im- 

 possible to bear the hand between 

 the sacks. Quite half was unripe and 

 little or no attempt had been made at 

 drying, I am informed on good authority 

 that the quantity of bad Copra from 

 Malacca is steadily increasing. 



Selangor Copra from native and 

 Chinese sources is of fair quality but 

 contains a good percentage of unripe 

 nut, also sand aud other impurities. 



The exports of Copra are to Russia, 

 Prance, Spain and other continental 

 ports, and recently to the United 

 Kingdom. The exports of coconut oil 

 from Singapore in 1907 reached 159,801 

 piculs, of which 40,163 piculs were im- 

 ported chiefly from Pontianak. 



The imports into and exports Irom 

 Singapore in each of the five years 1903 

 to 1907, and for nine months of 1908 are : — 



Year. Imports. Exports. 



Piculs. Value. Piculs. Value. 



1903 752,371 6,090,581 028,099 5,214,877 



19U4 64S,603 5,234,079 493,304 4,105,957 



1905 923,991 7,107,328 770,285 6,080,470 



1900 035,385 5,215,593 427,307 3,020,755 



1907 927,052 8,571,039 054,869 6,303,115 



ofTaOs} 897 ' 175 6 ' 205 ' 535 781 > 057 5,529,955 



The Director of Agriculture has stated 

 in his annual report for 1907 that this 

 important branch of the Agriculture of 

 the Federated Malay States has increas- 

 ed in acreage by seven per cent, during 

 that year, and that the total area under 

 coconuts at the end of the same period 

 was 112,500 acres. These facts and the 

 above figures demonstrate the import- 

 ance of the Copra industry to the 

 Peninsula and surrounding Islands, and 

 also shew that there is a renewed in- 

 terest in not the least important of our 

 agricultural staple industries. 



It is hoped that this renewed interest 

 will bring about better cultivation and 

 induce growers to take more pains in 

 the preparation of their produce for 

 market. — Agricultural Bulletin of the 

 Straits and F.M.S., Vol., VIII., No. I 

 January, 1909. 



