Malaysian oil palm estate revenues drop

Malaysian oil palm estate revenues drop

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's oil palm plantations lost 1.3 billion ringgit (US$520 million) in revenue over the past two years due to an acute shortage of workers, officials were quoted Friday as saying.

"The sector's target revenue dropped by 700 million ringgit last year and 600 million ringgit in 1994," said Abdul Rahman Teh Mohamad, chief executive of the United Planting Association of Malaysia.

The oil palm and rubber plantations needed another 22,836 workers, about 15 percent of the total necessary work force, Abdul Rahman was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

The country's growing economy, which has expanded by more than eight percent annually since 1987, has resulted in an acute shortage of workers in the agricultural and construction sectors.

Malaysia's palm oil production accounts for 52 percent of the world's total output and 64 percent of the country's total exports. It exported 11 billion ringgit worth of palm oil and palm oil products last year.

The oil palm plantations needed 80,377 workers but could only attract 68, 160 last year, out of which 43 percent were foreigners, said Abdul Rahman, quoting a recent study carried out by the association.

The total area planted with oil palm was 76,330 hectares.

Abdul Rahman said the rubber estates required 68,507 workers but could only get 57,888 last year to work on the 283,300 hectares of land. Out of this figure, more than eight percent were foreigners.

Hard-pressed by the worker shortage, the association was discussing with the government to approve more applications for foreign workers, he said.

The shortage was worsening as many foreign workers absconded after a short time in the estates to find jobs in the cities, he said.