Copra is the dried meat, or dried kernel, of the
coconut used to extract
coconut oil. The earliest evidence of the extracting and use of coconut oil from copra is in early
Tamil literature from the 1st century AD. The word originated from the
Malayalam word
Koppara. Coconut oil is extracted from it and this has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake, which is mainly used as
feed for livestock.