MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Palm Oil Accounts For 8.8 Per Cent Of Sarawak's Exports
Palm Oil Accounts For 8.8 Per Cent Of Sarawak's Exports
31/03/2016 (Bernama) - Exports of palm oil from Sarawak, which amounted to RM8 billion last year, accounted for 8.8 per cent of the state's total exports valued at RM90.3 billion.
Sarawak's Land Development Minister, Tan Sri Dr.James Jemut Masing, said from 2010 to 2015, palm oil also contributed RM1.9 billion in sales tax to the state government.
He said this at a one-day seminar on 'Addressing Manpower Needs of the Oil Palm Industry in Sarawak 2016' here today.
The seminar was jointly organised by his ministry and the Sarawak Development Institute.
He said the industry would remain a key sector and the growth engine of the economy and in fact is one of the 10 priority industries under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) Development Plan (2008-2030).
To-date, Masing said, Sarawak had planted 1.4 million hectares, representing 26 per cent of the total oil palm plantation in the country.
Meanwhile, he said, the shortage of labour continued to plague the industry.
"It has been highlighted by industry players that the main issue facing the plantation sector is the acute shortage of labour especially for harvesting and collection of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs).
"Consequently, the industry lost an estimated RM1 billion each year on uncollected FFBs,"he said.
He said 30,000 foreign workers would still be needed in the industry.
Since last year, Masing said, the state had employed a total of 103,095 workers, where 78 per cent were foreigners and 22 per cent locals, including those from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.
Unfortunately, he said, the government's efforts to hire foreign labour had been criticised by certain quarters and non-government organisations, who could not offer any practical or viable solution at the same time.
He said plantation owners were considering offering better pay and facilities as part of their duties under the Corporate Social Responsibility to attract local workers.
"But our small population and the limited labour market, where there are many attractive options, are also not in our favour," he said.
Sarawak's Land Development Minister, Tan Sri Dr.James Jemut Masing, said from 2010 to 2015, palm oil also contributed RM1.9 billion in sales tax to the state government.
He said this at a one-day seminar on 'Addressing Manpower Needs of the Oil Palm Industry in Sarawak 2016' here today.
The seminar was jointly organised by his ministry and the Sarawak Development Institute.
He said the industry would remain a key sector and the growth engine of the economy and in fact is one of the 10 priority industries under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) Development Plan (2008-2030).
To-date, Masing said, Sarawak had planted 1.4 million hectares, representing 26 per cent of the total oil palm plantation in the country.
Meanwhile, he said, the shortage of labour continued to plague the industry.
"It has been highlighted by industry players that the main issue facing the plantation sector is the acute shortage of labour especially for harvesting and collection of fresh fruit bunches (FFBs).
"Consequently, the industry lost an estimated RM1 billion each year on uncollected FFBs,"he said.
He said 30,000 foreign workers would still be needed in the industry.
Since last year, Masing said, the state had employed a total of 103,095 workers, where 78 per cent were foreigners and 22 per cent locals, including those from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.
Unfortunately, he said, the government's efforts to hire foreign labour had been criticised by certain quarters and non-government organisations, who could not offer any practical or viable solution at the same time.
He said plantation owners were considering offering better pay and facilities as part of their duties under the Corporate Social Responsibility to attract local workers.
"But our small population and the limited labour market, where there are many attractive options, are also not in our favour," he said.