KUALA LUMPUR (BLOOMBERG) - Malaysia is taking the hunt for palm oil workers online as the world's second-biggest producer struggles to ease an acute labour shortage that is costing farmers billions of dollars in unharvested fruit.
The two-day virtual career carnival, organised by the plantations and human resources ministries together with the country's social security organisation, seeks to fill over 8,600 jobs offered by 26 employers in the farm sector.
About 3,000 locals, including graduates and indigenous communities are expected to participate.
"The programme is a good platform to help the industry quickly get workers and at the same time provide jobs to locals that were affected by the pandemic," according to Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali.
The labour shortage that has plagued the Malaysian plantation industry for years worsened after the government shut borders and froze the hiring of foreign workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite offering higher wages and perks, efforts to recruit locals have had little success because working in the sector is viewed by them as dirty, dangerous and demeaning.
That is keeping planters from maximising harvest at a time when palm oil has rallied to a 10-year high.
"Planters can't fully optimise production in the estates, given the severe lack of palm fruit harvesters, who are mostly foreign workers," a group of 12 planters, refiners and palm-product manufactures said in a joint statement on Monday (March 8).
The industry, comprising more than 75 per cent foreign workers, was short by more than 40,000 harvesters before the pandemic.
That translates to crop losses of about 20 per cent and RM11.83 billion (S$3.87 billion) in lost revenue annually, according to the statement.
The pandemic has created job opportunities for locals, with more than 60,000 vacancies in the commodities sector, Mr Khairuddin said.
The first phase of the carnival, which offers job seekers online interviews, will focus on palm, rubber, timber, cocoa and pepper, he said.
