Vanuatu Basket invests VT600 million in copra production
December 23, 2025 10:09 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook
By Hilaire Bule.
The Future Fund under the Government Citizenship Investment Immigration Plan (CIIP) initiative has invested more than VT600,000,000 to increase copra production through its business arm, Vanuatu Basket Limited (VBL), during 2024 and 2025.
Company Director John Tonner confirmed this to the Daily Post yesterday.
Mr. Tonner said the economic activity focused on refurbishing and rebuilding dryers, improving land transport, installing scales to weigh copra accurately, expanding mechanised processing, and rehabilitating plantations.
He said copra production has increased steadily. Last month alone, VBL crushed more than VT49,000,000 worth of copra into coconut oil and purchased an additional VT30,000,000 worth of copra from farmers and producers.
Mr. Tonner said that while production has risen, a range of challenges and areas for improvement remain across the coconut sector, including dryers, quality control, replanting, and the ongoing fight against the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle (CRB).
He said national production remains below 20 per cent of capacity and, although output is beginning to taper, global prices continue to sit at the higher end of the market.
VBL is currently buying copra in the provinces of SANMA, MALAMPA, PENAMA, SHEFA and TORBA.
“We have spent a considerable amount of time carrying out awareness in TORBA and other provinces, understanding who needs dryers, storage, and other support for copra production. Vanuatu Basket aims to empower primary producers, not simply take their hard work and export it as a raw commodity,” Mr. Tonner said.
“VBL is adding value to create more jobs in-country, generate economic momentum, and deliver wider benefits for ‘man ples’. We have many community-based agents across several provinces, including TORBA.”
Former TORBA Provincial Government Council (TPGC) president Edgar Howard said the people of TORBA have acknowledged VBL’s effort to buy copra from remote islands in the northern part of the country.
Mr. Howard said plantations in TORBA had been overtaken by large trees for more than 15 years because farmers had little incentive to produce copra. He said farmers were also discouraged by limited shipping services.
He said farmers are able to produce copra, but much of it would go to waste as shipping operators were reluctant to travel long distances for small quantities, unlike SANMA, PENAMA and MALAMPA, which are closer to Luganville, the country’s main export port.
“The people of TORBA are very excited about the beach price paid by VBL, and they are beginning to make copra again and clean their plantations,” Mr. Howard said. “After more than 15 years of not producing copra, people no longer have basic tools such as axes to cut coconuts, but with the price increase, they are now ordering them again from Santo.”
Mr. Howard said the beach price for farmers is VT70,000.
He said sea transport remains a challenge for the people of TORBA, and there is hope that higher copra prices will encourage shipping operators to resume services to the islands.
People from the Torres Islands have also welcomed the recent increase in copra prices. David Andrew from Loh Island said farmers are now receiving a VT40,000 beach price from another buyer, not VBL.
He said there is hope the increase will be sustained to help diversify income sources, noting that coconut crabs remain the main source of income for the people of Toga, Loh, Tegua and Hiu.
