PETALING JAYA: Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming has urged Putrajaya to solve the labour shortage and production disruptions affecting the palm oil sector before seeking to boost the exports of palm oil products.
The DAP MP said local producers of palm oil and related products have yet to reach pre-pandemic production levels despite the economy opening up in April.
Citing figures from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), he said 6.8 million tonnes of crude palm oil (CPO) were produced from January to May – 18.7% less than the 8.3 million tonnes during the same period in 2019.
“In fact, CPO production from January to May 2022 is less than for the same time period in 2020,” the former deputy international trade and industry minister said in a statement.
“One of the supposed benefits of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s recent visit to Turkiye is an anticipated increase in palm oil exports from Malaysia.
“But this will prove to be a false promise if domestic issues in the production of palm oil products are not effectively managed.”
Ong said this was partly caused by the ongoing labour shortage in the sector, which looked unlikely to be resolved this year because of a lack of coordination among the relevant ministries in solving the problem.
He said this policy failure was a factor in the rise of cooking oil prices due to increased production costs.
Putrajaya, he said, must not repeat the mistake it made in banning the exports of chicken for the sake of ensuring local supply.
“We have seen the harm caused by the ban in the export of chickens where companies in other countries have been forced to look for alternative export sources, to the detriment of Malaysian producers.
“The government should instead take a more proactive approach towards solving the labour shortage issue in the palm oil sector and other sectors as well.”
Yesterday, plantation industries and commodities minister Zuraida Kamaruddin expected Ismail’s recent trip to Turkiye to boost bilateral trade, especially in Malaysia’s export of commodities like palm oil. - FMT
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