LETTER The Covid-19 pandemic has rattled the palm oil industry. Due to lockdowns and strict Movement Control Order, most economies have suffered.
Many people have become jobless, robbing them of their livelihood and reducing their buying power.
World demand for oils and fats, including palm oil, saw a big decline. During the pandemic, a major source of infection was from immigrant labour.
Their housing conditions, which make physical distancing challenging, have been cited as a contributing factor in the spread of the disease.
The palm oil industry, especially the upstream plantation sector, has for years been relying on foreign labour to harvest fruits.
It's a boost to industry that some big importing countries are buying palm oil again, and demand has returned, albeit softly, but labour remains a problem.
The shortage of such labour is a growing worry. There have been reports of heavy losses because of unharvested fruits.
With the government's decision to restrict the import of foreign labour, the poor harvest situation is exacerbated. So despite the small rise in prices, the shortage of plantation workers is a huge setback.
Getting local workers to do the job is not easy. Many shy away from working under harsh conditions.
And working as a harvester is even more demanding. Even among immigrant workers, not all can cope with the work environment.Only workers from Indonesia have been found to be robust enough to carry out the harvesting well.
But there is an issue with Indonesian workers, too. They are here only because of the sizable wage difference in their home country. But Indonesia is making changes to its wage structure.
As the largest palm oil producer in the world, it is constantly strategising to improve workers' conditions.
Many plantation experts warn that once the wages between the two major palm oil producers are at parity, more Indonesian workers will return home and this will affect Malaysia.
Yes, the industry has thought about solutions and options for years now. Researchers at MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board) have been hard at work evaluating mechanisation, robotics, dwarf palms and more. But, nothing viable has come up.
The palm oil industry in Malaysia has almost reached its limits in terms of land area for cultivation. The most they can go up to is six million hectares, without encroaching on sensitive forest areas. The other option is to venture into value added products, such as surfactants.
Therefore, sustainability of the industry is not just about meeting strict environmental standards, as espoused by the many certification schemes.
ncreasingly, labour economics has emerged as one of the biggest threat to sustainability of production.
Unless research can develop a viable alternative in the form of mechanised harvesting, the industry faces a bleak future if the ban on the import of immigrant labour enforced.
PROFESSOR DATUK DR AHMAD IBRAHIM
Academy of Sciences Malaysia, UCSI University
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times