Copha is vegetable shortening made of solidified coconut oil. It is a highly saturated, hydrogenated fat produced in Australia by the Peerless foods company. The product was developed back in 1933 and became popular for use in their recipe for Chocolate Crackles. Chocolate Crackles are a refrigerated treat similar to Rice Crispy Treats in the U.S. but use Copha in place of margarine or butter plus they include cocoa powder and shredded coconut. The same product is also distributed in New Zealand branded as Kremelta.
For general substitutions for Copha you can use one of the following alternatives:
The product is used primarily for baking cookies, biscuits and other desserts just as one would use other vegetable shortenings such as Crisco. While infrequently used in the US it is quite popular in Australia. Hydrogenated fats made with coconut oil do provide more flavor than some other bland vegetable shortenings.
The Copha website has an interesting page where you can view PDF versions of their old recipe books as far back as the 1950's.
Just like coconut oil; once the product is added to food there is next to no coconut flavor.