MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Urgent Need To Address Issues in Plantations Sector
Urgent Need To Address Issues in Plantations Sector
02/08/2013 (Borneo Post) - As palm oil is responsible for a sizable portion of contribution towards the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) – valued at RM8 billion in 2011 – it remains crucial for the government to address the shortage of labour as well as the issue of minimum wage implementation in this sector.
Global perception of the greater affects of monoculture as well as the inability of the state’s labour pool to meet the speed of the sector’s developmental demands remain the roadblock for this sector’s growth, highlighted Inside Investor in its report on the sector.
Inside Investor noted that the majority of oil palm plantation workers are from Indonesia and live in rural outposts to tend to the estate and maintain production.
“Based on statistics produced by Sarawak’s labour department in mid-2012, of the 98,092 people working on oil palm plantation in Sarawak, at least 80 per cent of these labourers are Indonesians, who are mostly employed as fruit bunch harvesters or estate maintenance workers,” noted the business intelligence unit.
According to Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (SOPPOA) chairman Paul Wong, the Sarawak plantation sector is still suffering from a shortfall of 20 per cent of the perceived labour requirement as of early 2013, a situtation that could worsen given the industry’s rapid development.
If left unchecked, the lack of hands in the field will exact a heavy toll on the sector, which is estimated to be losing between 10 per cent to 15 per cent of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) in plantations resulting in an estimated loss of RM1 billion in gross revenues per year.
Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing had recently highlighted the shortage of workers in the plantation sector amounted up to 30,000 people, leading to the loss of the aforesaid value in gross revenues.
Furthermore, an additional challenge tacked onto the industry in January 2013 was the issue of implementation of the minimum wage issue – requiring all plantation owners and timber producers to pay their labourers at least RM800 a month.
“To continue reaping the rewards of the industry has created from its critical mass, further employment of high tech industry standards and a resolution to the labour issue are needed,” noted Inside Investor.
Global perception of the greater affects of monoculture as well as the inability of the state’s labour pool to meet the speed of the sector’s developmental demands remain the roadblock for this sector’s growth, highlighted Inside Investor in its report on the sector.
Inside Investor noted that the majority of oil palm plantation workers are from Indonesia and live in rural outposts to tend to the estate and maintain production.
“Based on statistics produced by Sarawak’s labour department in mid-2012, of the 98,092 people working on oil palm plantation in Sarawak, at least 80 per cent of these labourers are Indonesians, who are mostly employed as fruit bunch harvesters or estate maintenance workers,” noted the business intelligence unit.
According to Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (SOPPOA) chairman Paul Wong, the Sarawak plantation sector is still suffering from a shortfall of 20 per cent of the perceived labour requirement as of early 2013, a situtation that could worsen given the industry’s rapid development.
If left unchecked, the lack of hands in the field will exact a heavy toll on the sector, which is estimated to be losing between 10 per cent to 15 per cent of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) in plantations resulting in an estimated loss of RM1 billion in gross revenues per year.
Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing had recently highlighted the shortage of workers in the plantation sector amounted up to 30,000 people, leading to the loss of the aforesaid value in gross revenues.
Furthermore, an additional challenge tacked onto the industry in January 2013 was the issue of implementation of the minimum wage issue – requiring all plantation owners and timber producers to pay their labourers at least RM800 a month.
“To continue reaping the rewards of the industry has created from its critical mass, further employment of high tech industry standards and a resolution to the labour issue are needed,” noted Inside Investor.