The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities has advised planters be it rubber or palm oil to be less dependent on foreign labor and look at ways to automate their industry.
This comes as the sector continues to face labour shortages in the wake of pandemic-related curbs including border closer that has prevented workers from re-entering the country. However, the Ministry is taking all steps to address the matter and has stated that it continues seeking solutions to overcome the manpower shortage in the plantation sector, especially oil palm. MPIC is aware of the woes faced by the Malaysian Estate Owners ’Association where a severe labour crunch of about 120,000 workers is said to be capable of causing losses in earnings by up to 5%-10%.
The ministry is currently working closely with the Human Resources Ministry, Wisma Putra, the Immigration Department, and the Co-operative Commission Malaysia, among others, to look into ways to expeditiously resolve this issue. The Government had in September 2021 approved plans to bring in 32,000 migrant workers for palm oil estates nationwide, and it remains cautiously optimistic about achieving this target, if not more, although the issue of permits had been brought to our attention.
Plantation owners have been asked to be open to workers from countries like India and Pakistan, and not be too dependent on workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh. As a long-term solution, the Ministry hopes that owners will look at cutting down their dependency on foreign workers and increasing the use of automation such as drones for the purpose of surveillance and pest control. This it said can lure local workers to this sector.
MPIC feels that the current labour crunch in the palm oil sector will spur planters to start investing in technological tools and boost their own bottom lines in the long-run.
