Copra quality standards: SNI, BAFS and PCA side by side
Search for copra quality standards and you find many tables whose figures disagree. This note reads four documents side by side: SNI 01-3946-1995, the Philippine BAFS technical bulletin, the PCA price rule and a Kenyan draft standard. The aim is not to crown a winner. It is to show why the figures do not match, and what to write into your purchase terms.
Copra quality standards: four documents, four jobs
People mention all four in one breath, but they do different jobs.
- SNI 01-3946-1995. The Indonesian national standard for copra, with grades A-I, A-II, B and C. We read its table from Yani et al., JIPI 27(3) 2022, read on 22 Oct 2026, not from the BSN document. We have not checked whether it is still in force. News of a revision under discussion reached us only through search summaries.
- BAFS Technical Bulletin No. 09 (published 10 Dec 2021). This bulletin from the Philippine standards body carries a table of Grades 1 to 3. The table cites another reference, so it is not the text of the PNS standard itself.
- PCA AO 02 s. 2003. The Philippine Coconut Authority rule on moisture in copra trade. We read it through a legal mirror, not the PCA site, and have not checked whether it still applies.
- Draft DKS 2466:2018 (Kenya). A public review draft, not a final standard. We use it because its test methods are written out in full.
Moisture: a ceiling, a band and a price rule
Moisture is the figure people argue about most, so we start there.
| Source | Moisture | Form of the figure |
|---|---|---|
| SNI (via JIPI) | Max. 5 / 5 / 8 / 12 % for A-I, A-II, B, C | A ceiling per grade. |
| BAFS | 6 to 7.9 / 8 to 10.9 / 11 to 13.9 % for Grades 1, 2, 3 | A band per grade. |
| PCA | 6.0 % base price; 6.1 to 13.9 % deducted; 14 % or more rejected | A price rule. |
| Kenyan draft | Max. 5 / 6 / 7 % for three grades | A ceiling per grade. |
| Kora (product page) | Max. 6 % and max. 8 % | A ceiling per line. |
Look at BAFS Grade 1: its band starts at 6 per cent. Kora’s “max. 6 %” is a ceiling. Both say six at a glance, yet they are not equivalent. The table is not lying. It simply is not answering the same question.
Oil, FFA, foreign matter and mould
The other columns are busier still. These figures were read from the same sources, and each cell remains that document’s own claim.
| Source | Oil min. (%) | FFA max. (%) | Foreign matter max. (%) | Mould |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNI (via JIPI) | 65 / 60 / 55 / 50 | 2 / 2 / 3 / 4 | 0 / 1 / 1 / 1 | Mouldy part max. 2 / 2 / 3 / 3 %. |
| BAFS | 62 / 60 / 58 | 0.5 / 4.0 / 5.0 as oleic | 0.25 / 0.75 / 1.0 | ARM 0 / 10 / 20 %; aflatoxin 5 / 20 / 20 ppb. |
| Kenyan draft | 64 / 62 / 60 dry basis | 1 / 2 / 5 as lauric, from extracted oil | 0.5 / 1 / 2 | Mouldy pieces none / 5 / 10 %. |
| Kora | Min. 63 | Max. 2 | Not listed. | Not listed. |
Two notes. The free fatty acid row in the SNI excerpt is cut off, so we do not state its acid basis. And the BAFS figures for ARM and aflatoxin should not become purchase limits before you read their definitions in the original document.
Why the figures do not match
- Form. A ceiling, a band and a price rule are three different things. Putting them in one column only helps the eye.
- Method. The Kenyan draft writes an oven at 100 to 102 °C. PCA names Brown-Duvel or an equivalent for deliveries of 500 kg or more. The SNI excerpt, the BAFS table and the Kora page name no method.
- Basis. Only the Kenyan draft states oil on a dry basis. FFA is sometimes “as oleic” and sometimes “as lauric”. By our own calculation from the molecular weights of the acids, the same titration gives an “as lauric” figure about 0.71 times the “as oleic” one.
- Age and status. This SNI dates from 1995. The Kenyan text is still a draft. The PCA price basis was 12 per cent under the 1991 order and 6 per cent from 2003, according to Rivera and Lantican (2010).
- Grade names. A-I to C, Grades 1 to 3, and grades A and B cannot be mapped one to one.
The APCC and ICC table is quoted often too. We could not open its home page on 22 Oct 2026, so we do not print its figures.
What goes into the purchase terms
Do not write “per the copra standard” and hope everyone pictures the same table. Write:
- the name of the standard with its year, or the figures themselves;
- the method for moisture, oil and FFA;
- the basis, such as as-received or dry, and “as” which acid;
- what happens outside the limit: deduction, hold or rejection;
- the retained sample and the umpire laboratory.
How to measure moisture is covered in how to measure copra moisture. For mould, read mould on copra. An example deduction rule sits on the moisture deductions page, and producer-published figures are on the quality parameters page.
Where Kora sits on this map
The Kora product page read on 22 Oct 2026 lists two moisture lines (max. 6 % and max. 8 %), oil at least 63 per cent, FFA at most 2 per cent, and grades A and B per line, without naming a reference standard. So we do not say that either line matches or meets any standard above. The full figures are on the pages for lower-moisture copra (max 6 %) and smoke-dried copra. If you want to set them against your mill’s purchase terms, write through the contact page. The Kora sales team replies within two business days.
Questions buyers ask
Which copra quality standard is most often quoted in Indonesia?
SNI 01-3946-1995, with grades A-I, A-II, B and C. We read it from a table in a 2022 JIPI journal article, not from the BSN document, and have not checked whether it is still in force or has been revised. Check the official status before you put it in a contract.
Why can SNI and BAFS copra moisture figures not be compared directly?
They differ in form. The SNI table as quoted gives a ceiling per grade (5, 5, 8 and 12 per cent), while the BAFS table gives a band per grade (6 to 7.9, 8 to 10.9 and 11 to 13.9 per cent). A ceiling and a band answer different questions.
Does the Philippine PCA grade copra?
PCA Administrative Order 02 s. 2003, which we read through a legal mirror, sets prices. Moisture of 6.0 per cent is paid at the base price, 6.1 to 13.9 per cent takes a deduction and 14 per cent or more is rejected. It is a trading price rule, not a grade system.
Are Kora's grades A and B the same as grades A and B in other standards?
That cannot be said. The Kora product page read on 22 Oct 2026 names grades A and B per line without naming a reference standard. So we do not map them to SNI, BAFS or PCA.