Marshall Islands copra makers nearly set a record with production in 2008, making it the second best year since records began being kept in 1951.
According to statistics provided by the Tobolar Copra Processing Authority, 7,641 tons of copra was produced from January to December 2008.
This was topped only in 1995, when 7,728 tons was processed by Tobolar.
Copra is dried coconut meat that is used to produce coconut oil
World market prices soared in 2008, with the price paid to producers in the Marshall Islands nearly doubling to 22 US cents per pound on the remote outer islands, and 23.5 cents in the capital, Majuro, where the processing plant is located.
Coupled with the dramatically increased price has been the privatisation of government shipping since 2007, which regularised and stabilised ship schedules to the outer islands after years of haphazard service.
