The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-07-29
|GROW|NG POPULARITY
| OF C0c0AKUT N U. 5.
Cancellation Of "Copra" Orders Call
Attention to Great Increase In
Use of the milky Nut"
TEN TIMES THAT BEFORE WAR
Has Grown from 100000 Pounds In
1914 to o,O00. 900 Pounds In 1918.
Oceanic Biggest Contributor With
Philippines Next.

The recent announcement from
| Washington of the cancellation of the
order of June 2sth, by which the i'm
portation of copra into the United
States was suspended, calls attention
to remarkable increase in the use OF
| the cocoanut and its products in the
| United States in recent years.
''Copra." as is we'll known. In the
trade name for the dried meat OF the
cocoanut. compilation by the Ma
tional City bank of New York shows
| that the quantity of copra brought
| into the United States in the fiscal
year 1918, just ended. was approx
| mately ten times as much as in the
| year before the war. From modest
| 100000 pounds in the fiscal year
1914. all OF which preceded the~ war,
the figures grew to 80 000, 900 pounds
| in 1915; 10000, 900, 90 in 1915. 247,-
/ 600. 900 in 1917, and about $50. 10000
pounds in 1918. The tropical sections
OF the whole world are being ran
sacked for the cocoanut and the
| imports into the United States are
/ drawn from more than thirty coun-
I tries and islands representing every
| grand division OF the globe, Oceania
| is by far the largest contributor and
our own Philippine islands supplied
nearly one half of the approximately
$50, 5000 pounds entering the
! United States in the. fiscal year 1918.
/ The recent orders of the government
upon this subject again permit the
/ importation of all copra except that
! cisssed az shredded, dessICatsd or
| prepared, which has formed in the
! past but an extremely small proper
| ton of the eopra imported into the
/ United States. The quantity import
ed in 1918 OF this class, which Is still
excluded was but about 20, 200 900
pounds out OF a grand total of $50
/ 400 .000 pounds imported
! Even this tremendous increase in
the importation of copra tells only
{ part of the story of the increased de-
mapd for the product of the eocoanut
j The quantity of cocoanut oil imported
/ has also rapidly increased, from IA
| 600 900 pounds in 1914 to about 25o,-
600 .000 pounds in 1918, and OF this
our Philippine Islands also contrib
Uted more than one half.
t The United States apparently con-
sumed in the fiscal year 1915 the
product of over 1000. geo 900 cocoa
nuts represented ny these three
/ that one pound OF copra represents
4 the meat of three averaged sized
cocoanuts; and as the importation OF
copra for the year is about $4,000
! 600 pounds and OF oil about 100000
! 900. the total number of nuts repre-
scented by these two Expectations
: would he approximately 2, 40e 900, 600
cocoanuta. while the number of nuts
i'm ported in the natural state from
foreign countries and our own islands
/ y In aYf1nnntp1 about
/ ] 90, 600. 900. bring the total of the
rutts represented by these three
! Glasses OF imports up to approximate
ly two and one-half billions. against
Iabout 500. 0oo. 900 in 1914. The value
of the cocoanuts copra and cocoanut
oil imported in 1918 is about $4,000
900, against approximately 1000, 600
| in 1914.
| This great increase In the use OF
the cocoanut In the United States in
apparently due, in some degree at
| il asst TO the decrease in the supply
| of meats, fats. and dairy products
| available for the use of our own peo-
| pie. The number of food animals in
| the country in 1918 Is about the same
fin proportion TO population as in 1914,
| but, as We are compelled under the
exigenciee OF the war to greatly in
crease our exports of meats and dairy
| products, the supply remaining for
cur own people has necessarily de-
creased. The quantity OF meat ex-
ported in the fiscal year 1918 Is sp-
proximately 2.000, 10000 pounds, in
Guiding that sent on government ves-
sells against about $50 900. 900 pounds
In the year preceding the war and
the quantity OF dairy products, inciud-
/ ing butter. cheese and condensed
milk, has increased from 22.o0,o 900
4 Ir