Shortage of labour in palm oil sector to ease next year, says MPOB DG
20/12/2022 (New Straits Times), Kuala Lumpur - Acute labour shortages impacting the domestic palm oil sector will not be fully resolved next year, despite industry players and government agencies shifting their attention to other countries for labour resources.
Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said the situation would likely improve next year as the board and the government are already heading beyond Indonesia for labour, namely India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
"Although we do not see the issue being completely resolved next year, we are trying our best to resolve the situation by diversifying our focus into other countries," he told reporters after the launch of the Malaysia Palm Oil Board's (MPOB) National Seminar on Oil Palm Milling, Refining, Environment and Quality (POMREQ) 2022 here today.
Dr Ahmad Parveez said India is currently developing its palm oil industry as the country still imports 60 per cent of crude palm oil to meet the domestic demand.
He said India has its own national mission on edible oil, of which palm oil is one of them.
Under the mission, India plans to plant two million palm oil plantation areas by 2025.
"India is not facing any labour shortage issues due to its preparedness to develop this industry and the size of its population.
"Therefore, we are in talks with India to hire workers from there and train them here before sending back these skilled workers to help develop India's palm oil industry after five to ten years. So it is a win-win situation for both Malaysia and India," he added.
Dr Ahmad Parveez said the board expects crude palm oil (CPO) price to hover between RM4,000 to RM4,500 per tonne by the end of the year due to the ongoing global crisis, especially the war in Ukraine and Indonesia's new mandate on biodiesel.
"Demand will remain elevated, and production remains under pressure. So I think the price of CPO will remain high for the rest of the year," he said.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the concept of a smart palm oil factory should align with the oil palm industry to give a new dimension to the aspect of efficiency.
The ministry suggests that palm oil players should emphasise efforts in reducing the carbon footprint for palm oil products in line with the development and the global demand for environmentally friendly products.
"This action proves the seriousness of the oil palm industry in line with Malaysia's aspiration to achieve the target of net zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions as early as 2050," he said.
His speech at the POMREQ 2022 today was delivered by MPIC secretary-general Datuk Zurinah Pawanteh.
Dr Ahmad Parveez said that as of 2021, 135 oil palm mills or 30 per cent of the existing oil palm mills, have installed biogas systems.
Meanwhile, 15 factories are in the process of installation, and 130 factories are in the process of planning for the installation of biogas systems.
Until October 31, 97.8 per cent of oil palm plantations in Malaysia, covering an area of 5.61 million hectares, had obtained the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification.
"In addition to the oil palm cultivation sector, the oil palm manufacturing sector also implements MSPO Certification where until October 31, 2022, 98.28 per cent or 458 oil palm mills have obtained MSPO Certification," he said.
The POMREQ seminar, themed "The Oil Palm Industry - Building Strategic Resilience, Turning Crisis into Opportunity", involves the participation and dialogue sessions between stakeholders in the palm oil industry.