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Don’t just rely on Indonesian, Bangladeshi workers, Zuraida tells palm oil producers
Don’t just rely on Indonesian, Bangladeshi workers, Zuraida tells palm oil producers
18.06.2022 (www.thestar.com.my) - PETALING JAYA: Local palm oil producers should wean off reliance on Indonesian and Bangladeshi foreign workers amidst the “severe” shortage of about 120,000 workers, says Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin (pic).
Her call comes following delays in bringing some 32,000 foreign workers for the palm oil plantation which could have dire consequences on the nation as the second largest palm oil producers in the world.
"Plantation owners must also in the future, be open to workers from countries like India and Pakistan, and not be too dependent on workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh," the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister said in a statement on Saturday (June 18).
She acknowledged that the government had in September 2021 approved plans to bring in 32,000 migrant workers for palm oil estates nationwide which had run into issues regarding their permits.
"The ministry remains cautiously optimistic of achieving this target, if not more, although the issue of permits had been brought to our attention," she said.
She assured the Malaysian Estate Owners ’Association (MEOA) that her ministry is currently working closely with several other ministries such as the Human Resources Ministry, Wisma Putra, Immigration Department and Co-operative Commission to look into ways to expeditiously resolve this issue.
She was responding to MEOA’s recent warning of Malaysia missing a golden opportunity to capitalise on high palm oil prices and could suffer more production losses due to a “severe” shortage of about 120,000 workers.
MEOA said that the labour shortage could see estate owners losing earnings of between 5% and 10%.
Foreign workers, mostly from Indonesia, typically make up about 80% of the workforce in Malaysian estates, which numbered about 437,000 at the start of the pandemic.
In early June, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) lowered its production outlook to 18.6 million tonnes for the year from an earlier estimate of 18.9 million tonnes.
In November last year, Zuraida told Dewan Rakyat that about 40% of the nation's palm oil harvest, worth some RM30bil, is done during the year-end and that she would not let the shortage of foreign workers affect this.
Meanwhile, Zuraida urged palm oil producers to also shift towards the use of automation as a long-term solution to cut down their dependency on foreign workers.
"Through technological studies and research conducted by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), plantation owners are advised to increase the use of automation such as drones for the purpose of surveillance and pest control," she added.
She noted that the current labour crunch in the palm oil sector will spur planters to start investing in technology in the long-term.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/06/18/dont-just-rely-on-indonesian-bangladeshi-workers-zuraida-tells-palm-oil-producers