Copra moisture at the receiving gate: measure, compare, decide

Moisture is the figure that gets argued about at the receiving gate. It decides whether a lot is accepted, what is paid for it, and whether it can sit in a store before pressing. This note covers what should already be agreed before the truck rolls in, and what the receiving clerk writes down once a reading appears.

One lot, three moisture numbers

A single lot usually comes with three moisture numbers, and each has a different origin.

• The figure in the quotation or specification. This is a limit, not a result. The Kora product page read on 22 Oct 2026, for instance, lists a limit of up to 6 % for its 6 % moisture line and up to 8 % for its smoke-dried grade.
• The figure on the COA. This is a test of a sample from one lot, on one date, by one method.
• The figure you read at the gate. This comes from a sample you drew, on your own instrument, when the goods arrived.

The three may differ, and that does not automatically mean someone is wrong. Copra takes up or gives off water in storage and transport, samples can come from different parts of a pile, and instruments can work on different principles. What causes trouble is when nobody has written down which number counts.

Write down the instrument and the method

Mills that have bought copra for years usually have an answer to this, but the answer often lives only in one clerk’s head. Move it into the purchase terms: which instrument, when it was last calibrated, how many points the sample is drawn from, and whose reading wins if two parties disagree.

As an illustration, the Philippine Coconut Authority policy (Administrative Order 02 s.2003, which we read through a legal mirror, Lawyerly, not through the PCA site) ties the method to the size of the delivery: Brown-Duvel or an equivalent method for 500 kg and above, a registered meter for smaller deliveries. That is Philippine policy, not Indonesian rule, and we do not claim it applies at your mill. It only shows that the method is itself something to be specified rather than left to each side.

An example band from the Philippines

The same document splits moisture into three bands: up to 6 % carries no moisture deduction, 6.1 to 13.9 % carries a deduction, and 14 % or more is rejected. That three-step split is a handy frame for a talk with a supplier, because it separates three decisions: accept in full, accept with a deduction, and reject.

Two cautions. First, we do not quote a deduction rate, because we have no basis for one; the rate has to come from your own purchase agreement. Second, the bands are a historical reference for one country, not a trading limit that applies everywhere.

What the purchase terms should say about moisture

The list that needs to be on paper before the first lot ships:

1. The moisture limit for full acceptance, and the method and instrument used.
2. What happens above the limit: deduction, hold or rejection, and how the deduction is worked out.
3. A rounding rule, for example whether 6.04 reads as 6.0 or 6.1. A gap this small often starts a dispute on lots near the limit.
4. The weight basis used to calculate the deduction.
5. Who retests when there is an objection, and within how many hours of the first reading.
6. The retained sample, and where it is kept.

What the clerk records at the gate

One line per lot is enough, as long as it is complete: lot code and sample code, date and time of the test, instrument and its number, the reading exactly as the instrument shows it (decimals included), the clerk’s name, and the provisional decision. Never overwrite the first reading when a retest is done. Put the second reading on a new line and note why the retest was run.

One limit, many figures in the market

Moisture limits in the market vary. According to the Kora product page read on 22 Oct 2026, there are two: up to 6 % for lower-moisture copra (max 6 %) and up to 8 % for smoke-dried copra. The SMN Indonesia page, read the same day, lists a maximum of 6 %. AGRIO COCO splits its range into three lines with limits of 5, 6 and 8 %.

None of the three pages names a measuring method. So the figures cannot be compared line by line, and they are not a ranking. For a mill the difference in limit shows up in the store: a lot with the higher limit should be pressed sooner, or held somewhere drier. If your pressing schedule often slips, say so in the purchase terms so the seller knows which limit makes sense for you.

Further reading: how to measure copra moisture covers instruments and methods, and copra quality standards sets SNI, BAFS and PCA side by side.

Next step

If you want to test the moisture terms above against a Kora lot, send the grade, monthly volume, unloading point and the test method you use through the contact page. The Kora sales team replies within two business days and explains which quality documents exist for that lot.