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Oil Palm Industry Players Should Improve Mechanisation In Plantations
Oil Palm Industry Players Should Improve Mechanisation In Plantations
29/09/2017 (Bernama) - Oil palm industry players should improve the mechanisation or create new innovation in plantation work to reduce the dependence on foreign labour in future.
Plantations and Commodities Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the oil palm industry might experience a shortage of manpower from Indonesia when the county implements minimum wage.
"With the implementation of minimum wage, the salaries in Indonesia and Malaysia will not differ much and so, the potential of Indonesians coming here to work may be low," he told reporters after launching Malaysia International Agriculture Technology Exhibition 2017 (Agri Malaysia 2017) here, today.
Citing Cantas, the harvesting machine produced by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Mah said it was a form of innovation to harvest oil palm fruit twice as much.
He said although the initial capital of buying the machine was high, it was a profitable long-term investment because it was lower than the salaries of foreign workers.
Plantations and Commodities Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong said the oil palm industry might experience a shortage of manpower from Indonesia when the county implements minimum wage.
"With the implementation of minimum wage, the salaries in Indonesia and Malaysia will not differ much and so, the potential of Indonesians coming here to work may be low," he told reporters after launching Malaysia International Agriculture Technology Exhibition 2017 (Agri Malaysia 2017) here, today.
Citing Cantas, the harvesting machine produced by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Mah said it was a form of innovation to harvest oil palm fruit twice as much.
He said although the initial capital of buying the machine was high, it was a profitable long-term investment because it was lower than the salaries of foreign workers.