Revival due to high prices and barges

Patrick Matbob
Copra trade is flourishing again in the coastal islands around Madang and the neighbouring provinces of Papua New Guinea.

The revival of the copra trade has been made possible by the introduction of two copra barges by the coconut oil exporter Coconut Oil Production Madang Limited (COPM).

The vessels, MV Coconut Trader and MV Copra Trader, are plying the coastal areas and outer islands of Madang and neighboring provinces to buy copra for the mill.

COPM Logistic Manager Daniel Katie said the company is paying up to K3.5 million (US$1.3m) a month to copra producers within the province.

He said in the beginning they had to encourage villagers who had virtually abandoned producing copra to start again by supplying them with drums for the drier.

Copra was once the biggest export revenue earner in PNG that supported business empires such as Burns Philp and Steamships and built the fortunes for many entrepreneurs. Villagers also relied on copra for income and vessels used to visit the islands and the coastlines buying copra and supplying trade goods to the remote areas.

Today COPM barges are doing the same. While visiting the remote areas to buy copra, they also carry basic goods like rice, tea, soap and salt which are traded with the local people.

Katie said the people appreciate the services provided to their homes.

He said in places like Long Island which is situated more than 100 kilometres southeast from Madang, there has been no regular boating services for many years. Islanders have had to hire banana boats and risk the high seas to bring their copra to sell in town. However, the costs have been prohibitive for the simple villagers. Katie said when their vessels arrived on the island for the first time to buy copra and sell goods, many people wept with joy.  He said on Long island alone, they had to call into six areas around the island to pick up copra.

He said the service has enabled families to become involved in the trade and they are buying copra not only from men, but from women and children as well.

As the Logistics Manager, Katie coordinates the purchase of copra throughout the provinces and islands where the barges visit. He works through agents in some areas however, on remote locations, the crews buy directly from villagers.

The vessels carry a tractor to help in transporting copra to the vessel from locations further inland where there are no roads.

Katie said the vessels are playing an important role in facilitating trade amongst the people in the remote areas. For example, he said when villagers get cash for their copra, they buy goods again from the vessels. The cash that the crews get back from the villagers enables the vessel to buy more copra from other villagers nearby.

The barges are currently operating far south as Milne Bay, and up north to Manus provinces and east to the autonomous region of Bougainville.

The copra trade has been helped by high copra prices on the world market. Currently, prices are for Hot Air—K1,400 per tone; FMS—K1,300; and smoked—K1,300.

COPM is owned by MRPS Services, a New Zealand firm which bought the Madang mill from Elan Trading Corporation of Australia in 2006. The mill is currently exporting coconut oil to European markets and copra meal to Australia. Only five percent of the meal is sold locally.