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The present market price of copra in Singapore. 
(October, 1923) is quoted at $11.00 per picul, whilst 
the latest London quotations (September, 1923) for 
the various products are as follows: — 
Copra (Straits) . . £24 per ton. 
Coconut oil . . £38 — £47 per ton. 
Coconut oil cake . . £ 7 — £ 8 „ 
Coconut (desiccated) 37/- per cwt. 
AFRICAN OIL PALM. 
{Elaeis Guineensis) . 
The African oil palm, the fruit of which yields the 
two well-known oils of commerce, palm oil and palm 
kernel oil, was introduced into the Netherlands 
Indies in 1848, but did not receive serious con- 
sideration as a plantation crop until the last decade. 
During this period considerable progress has been 
made in the Dutch East Indies where, according to 
Rutgers, the area planted with oil palms on the 
east coast of Sumatra had increased from 8,500 
acres in January, 1918, to 28,000 acres in January, 
1922. 
Attention is also being given to the cultivation of 
this crop on a plantation scale in this country, the 
area planted to date being estimated at about 3,000 
acres, of which 500 acres are in bearing. The export 
of palm oil and palm kernels has already commenced. 
Numerous applications for land have recently been 
made which shows that the possibilities of the 
crop are now being realised by the local planting 
community. 
Varieties of Oil Palm . — Although different varieties 
of Elaeis Guineensis have been described, based 
primarily oh the form and composition of fruit, itr 
