Labour shortage cost palm oil sector RM20bil last year, says Fadillah

 

Deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof says the extension of the recalibration programme will help ease the labour shortage affecting plantations.

PUTRAJAYA: The shortage of 63,000 foreign workers in the palm oil sector severely affected yield and saw Malaysia lose out on an estimated RM20 billion in revenue last year, says deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof.

Fadillah, who is also the plantation and commodities minister, said that as a result, the Cabinet agreed to facilitate the intake of foreign workers and extend the labour recalibration programme until the end of the year.

The programme, originally scheduled to end on Dec 31, 2022, saw more than 410,000 undocumented migrants sign up to be regularised as legal foreign workers.

Fadillah said the home ministry and the human resources ministry will hold discussions with source countries to ensure the entry of foreign workers can be carried out smoothly.

“The two ministries will go to Indonesia and Bangladesh to discuss (the hiring of foreign workers).

“At the Malaysian level, what was decided in the Cabinet is to simplify all processes,” he told reporters after delivering his New Year message at the plantation and commodities ministry here today.

The labour recalibration programme regularises undocumented migrants as foreign workers who could be employed by eligible employers.

The programme also allows undocumented migrants to voluntarily return home if they meet certain conditions set by the authorities.

In a separate matter, Fadillah said he will hold discussions with his Indonesian counterpart after the country recently announced plans to set its own benchmark for crude palm oil (CPO) prices.

Malaysia and Indonesia account for more than 80% of the world’s palm oil supply, and Fadillah said discussions with Indonesia will centre on how the latter’s plan will affect the Malaysian palm oil industry and the global market.

On Jan 19, Indonesia’s trade minister Zulkifli Hasan said the country plans to launch a CPO benchmark price by June.

“If possible, before June we will have the palm oil (benchmark price), and no longer have to rely on Kuala Lumpur. We have more palm oil than them, why are we following Malaysia?” he was quoted as saying by BusinessToday.