Replacing non-available workers with a machine.

The oil palm industry in Malaysia is facing an existential crisis due to a shortage of workers. Compared with other field crops such as soy or rapeseed that are easier to mechanize, oil palm requires about 25 times more workers. 

Malaysia has estimated that 70% of workers are not Nationals. This number has exacerbated the dependence during the travel restrictions imposed by Covid-19.

Even before the pandemic, the industry estimated a shortage of about 40,000 harvesters; this number may have doubled since, according to Nageeb Wahab, chief executive of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, a growers’ group that counts among its members 40% of palm plantations by area. 

Revenue losses by the industry were pegged at about 1/4 billion US$ a month due to worker shortages, with estimates suggesting losses even 50% higher.

Part of Palm INNOV initiative is to replacing the manual harvesting with an automated harvesting machine.

Interested to know more? Watch out for our next post for insights into this machine.

Wilmar International IOI Corporation Berhad Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad United Plantations BHD (UPL) Cargill Univanich Palm Oil Public Company Limited Asian Agri palmoil analytics Palm Oil Palm Oil Association of Singapore  Palm oil machine grains processing machine Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) Palm Oil Experts Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC) Malaysian Palm Oil Council – Europe Region  Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) The Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme Univanich Palm Oil Public Company Limited Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF) Palm oil production line Palm Oil Central The Sustainable Palm Oil Choice (SPOC)  Belgian Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil Palm Done Right Mano Palm Oil Industries Pwani Oil Group Golden Agri-Resources (GAR)