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.