MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Sabah Oil Palm Plantations Fully Rely on Foreign Workers
Sabah Oil Palm Plantations Fully Rely on Foreign Workers
21/09/2016 (Bernama) - Palm oil plantations in Sabah fully rely on foreign workers, 90% of whom are from Indonesia and the remainder from the Phillipines.
East Malaysia Planters Association chairman Masri Pudin said the sector’s total dependence on foreigners is due to the fact that locals prefer to work in other sectors.
“This is the reality that industry players and the relevant agencies have to face and the worker issue will continue to plague the industry despite various efforts to tackle it,” he said when presenting a working paper at the Palm Oil Mechanism Seminar here today.
Apart from stiff competition among themselves, Masri said the local players also have to compete with their Indonesian counterparts – who face a similar problem with Indonesians preferring to work in the cities.
East Malaysia Planters Association chairman Masri Pudin said the sector’s total dependence on foreigners is due to the fact that locals prefer to work in other sectors.
“This is the reality that industry players and the relevant agencies have to face and the worker issue will continue to plague the industry despite various efforts to tackle it,” he said when presenting a working paper at the Palm Oil Mechanism Seminar here today.
Apart from stiff competition among themselves, Masri said the local players also have to compete with their Indonesian counterparts – who face a similar problem with Indonesians preferring to work in the cities.