How did ni-Vanuatu producers gain control of the copra trade?

Ni-Vanuatu producers gained control of the copra trade through the development of cooperatives in the 1970s.1

While ni-Vanuatu producers had been increasingly competitive against European planters since the late 19th century—partly because they could rely on subsistence agriculture during economic downturns—they did not fully assume control of the trade until these cooperatives were established. By 1948, the majority of copra in the island group was already being produced by ni-Vanuatu individuals, but the formalization of the trade through cooperatives was the final step in securing control.1