Copra bonanza

MADANG-based coconut oil producer, Coconut Oil Mill (COPM) Ltd, yesterday received its record tonnage of copra in a single shipment from any province.
And it was sleepy Milne Bay – better known for its yams and associated love-fest – that tipped the scale when it supplied 9,900 bags (900 tonnes) of copra through the company vessel, Copra Trader.
COPM management and mill staff were on hand to receive the heavily-laden barge as it came to berth at the company wharf at 3.30pm. This reminded everybody that copra is still king for the maritime people and the mill, which was tagged for sale, remains viable.
The COPM has two barges, Copra Trader and Coconut Trader, and this was the single biggest load of copra that either of them had brought to the mill from the districts and provinces since the New Zealand owners bought the company in 2005.
It took Copra Trader five days to load the copra at Alotau wharf. The shipment came from the coastal regions and islands of Milne Bay.