BANGI MP Dr Ong Kian Ming has called for Putrajaya to solve the labour shortage and production disruptions in the palm oil sector before seeking to boost domestic production and exports of palm oil products.
According to the DAP MP despite the fact that the domestic and global economy have reopened in 2022 production in the palm oil sector has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Citing figures from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Ong said that 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.
Ong further pointed out that one of the supposed benefits of Prime Minister Datuk Seri 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,” he remarked.
Ong said this was partly caused by the ongoing labour shortage in the sector, which looked unlikely to be resolved this year due to the continued uncertainties at the government-to-government level between Malaysia and Indonesia with regard to policies which are supposed to be in place to protect foreign labour in Malaysia especially in the plantation sector.
“The labour shortages in the palm oil sector is just one example of the larger failure of this government to have a coordinated approach to tackle this problem across all of the relevant ministry,” he noted.
“This policy failure is one of the factors which have led to domestic supply chain bottlenecks and disruptions that also partly explain the increase in the cost of production, the cost of the final products and recent shortages in some items, including cooking oil.”
He added that the Government should not take the same approach of banning the export of palm oil-related products in order to “solve” domestic shortages of cooking oil.
“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,” he pointed out.
“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.” – July 12, 2022
