Promote white copra production in Madang: Chamber

By DALE LUMA
MADANG Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Kevin Murray says high value white copra production must be promoted in Madang.
Murray said the high value product that can be produced from copra is white oil.
“The more we can get people involved in these sorts of industries, the more we can increase our agriculture production here in Madang,” he said.
Murray added that cocoa had been established in the province especially in the Middle Ramu district and this was encouraging.
“The other thing that we would like to see happen is the promotion of white copra.
“It has happened to a certain extent but I know there are plans by the people who are promoting it to move into the Rai Coast area.
“That’s something we should do.
“The other thing that we should do is to promote white oil from copra.
“It’s a high quality copra oil, white oil extracted from green copra and that’s pure white oil which is a lot more valuable than the normal copra oil.”
The Kokonas Indastri Korporesen (KIK) has worked in some parts of East New Britain to promote the white copra production.
According to KIK, white copra was a high value product on the world market
It highlighted that the quality of copra production in the world market had dropped. The selling price of black copra is K80 for a bag while the selling price for white copra was between K400 and K500 per bag.
“KIK wants to encourage all the farmers in the province to tap into white copra production but first we must train farmers to produce quality white copra,” a spokesman said.