Labour shortage worsens in oil palm sector amid pandemic

Labour woes: Palm oil seeds at a plantation in Pulau Carey. Local planters are severely short of fresh fruit bunch harvesters, who are mostly foreign workers from Indonesia. — Reuters

AS we enter the peak production period for oil palm in September, lasting till December, the industry is grappling with the issue of an acute labour shortage.

While the labour issue has been the bane of the industry for many years, it is set to take a turn for the worse amid the peak season, the freeze on the intake of new workers, and the difficulty in recruiting such workers due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.