The Edge Markets (12/04/2018) - KUALA LUMPUR (April 12): Labour issues plaguing the Malaysian palm oil industry must be tackled with an increased level of mechanisation, urged an industry expert.

"The writing is on the wall for us to get our act together. The mechanisation of the oil palm sector is not a luxury, but an imperative," said industry veteran M R Chandran, who is also advisor of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

Chandran was speaking today at the launch of the new oil palm harvesting electrical cutter system, otherwise known as Electric Harvesting Cutter (ECUT) deployed by Kingoya Enterprise Sdn Bhd. 

He explained that the recent suggestion of a minimum wage hike to RM3,500 for skilled workers could jolt the oil palm industry, and as such the sector could be helped with more efficient use of labour and reduced dependence on foreign workers.

This is especially true because as at May 2017, there is an estimated 427,000 workers in the Malaysian palm oil sector of whom 77% were foreign workers.

"Mechanisation not only cuts dependence on foreign labour, but costs including foreign exchange losses where a significant portion of wages that are repatriated out of the country," he added.

However, Chandran dismissed the feasibility of achieving a targeted foreign workforce reduction of 110,000 in the oil palm sector by 2020, as outlined in the Economic Transformation Programme.

Kingoya today launched the lightweight, zero-emission ECUT which promises to improve productivity by two to three times, increase fresh fruit bunches harvested by up to three tonnes per day per harvester, all whilst reducing in-field harvesting workforce by as much as 40%.

"We developed this product with the aim of reducing the inflow of foreign workers into the Malaysian plantation sector. We wish to attract more Malaysians to return to the field by introducing this ergonomic harvesting tool that is easy to handle," said its co-founder Gopi Nath Nair.

Read more at http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/industry-expert-urges-greater-mechanisation-palm-oil-sector