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Last Updated: 21 March 2024

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KUALA LUMPUR: The oil palm industry is facing problems or being affected after the government froze the hiring quota of foreign workers due to the surplus of foreign workers which actually applies for the manufacturing and service sectors.

Plantation and Commodities Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the oil palm industry still depends about 75 per cent on foreign workers.

"For example, every eight hectares of oil palm is managed by one worker. So if there are 1,000 hectares, about 125 workers are required and of that number, 75 per cent are foreign workers.

"He said the oil palm industry lacks almost 40,000 workers, mostly focused on the harvesting segment.

"Recently the government has frozen the quota of foreign workers because there is a surplus of foreign workers in the country. But the surplus is in fields other than plantations.

"For example, currently in the manufacturing sector we have an excess of 165,497 foreign workers, while in the service sector, we have an excess of 27,158 foreign workers. This excess of foreign workers occurred after we reopened businesses and the economy post Covid-19 whereby any company that applied for foreign workers would get approval from the ministry.

"There was a lack of coordination. Businesses take time to grow after we closed for two years, and that's what causing the excess foreign workers," he said during the question and answer session at Dewan Negara today in reply to a question from Senator Datuk Seri Zurainah Musa who asked about the efforts made to resolve the needs of about 40,000 foreign workers in the oil palm plantation sector.

Johari said  since the companies involved in the plantation sector were facing a shortage of foreign workers, a 'recalibration' was made with the excess of unemployed foreign workers offered work in the plantation sector.

"However, the plantation industry is afraid to hire (excess foreign workers) because if some of them were hired against their will, it will cause them to be deemed as forced labour," he said.

He said the ministry is currently implementing a 'pilot test' by hiring 60 young local workers to change the perception of working in the plantation.

"Mainly, we want them (local young workers) to specialise in harvesting. Harvesters are very important because if we have 100 workers in the plantation, 50 per cent are harvesters.

"So we want to train our youths via the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme. We will train them to harvest oil palm trees and call them specialist harvesters and hopefully they can earn a salary of up to RM3,000.

"I mention this because only Malaysia has such a labour problem. In Indonesia, 100 per cent of its production is local. They have harvesters who have specialised skills and some of them came here and they are the ones who harvest," he said.

Johari said the country's oil palm industry suffered losses of RM20 billion to RM30 billion following the labour shortage issue.— BERNAMA

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/03/1027945/oil-palm-industry-affected-after-freezing-foreign-worker-recruitment

Sumber : New Straits Times

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Last Updated: 21 March 2024

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KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 ― Crude palm oil (CPO) prices are anticipated to pull back to the RM3,800 to RM4,000 per tonne trading range in April 2024 from the current level of RM4,250 per tonne, said the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).

 This is due to the ample supply of soya beans from South America entering the global market from April onwards, as well as the gradual seasonal recovery of palm oil production in Malaysia, it said.

"As the low season for palm oil production concludes in March, palm oil prices may begin to reflect the recovery in production and inventory levels in April and May, potentially capping palm oil prices.

"Additionally, the price premium of palm oil over soft oils continued to widen in March and have surpassed the prices of three major soft oils concurrently since February in the European market,” it said in a statement today.

According to MPOC, CPO prices are trading at a premium of US$40 (RM189.17) to US$95 per tonne above soft oils in March 2024, therefore, a recovery in soft oil prices is anticipated in April 2024 to narrow the price spread.

"CPO prices surged to their highest level in 12 months on March 15, 2024, nearly 10 per cent above the February 2023 closing price.

"The strong price trends observed in the first quarter of 2024 are predominantly shaped by the dynamics of deficit supply growth,” it said.

Moving forward in 2024, MPOC said the global palm oil production is projected to rise minimally by 0.11 per cent, whereas production growth for soya bean oil is expected to increase by 2.88 per cent, rapeseed oil to grow by 3.48 per cent, and sunflower oil to expand by 3.94 per cent.

In terms of inventory, it said Malaysian palm oil stocks continued their downward trend in February 2024, dropping by five per cent to 1.919 million tonnes, marking the lowest level of stock registered since July 2023.

"The reduction in palm oil inventory in February was primarily driven by reduced imports and robust domestic consumption,” it said.

MPOC said it is unlikely that Malaysia's palm oil stocks will experience any growth in March due to robust domestic consumption, particularly during the Ramadan month, while production is not expected to increase until April and beyond. ― Bernama

https://www.malaymail.com/amp/news/money/2024/03/19/malaysian-palm-oil-council-cpo-prices-set-to-pull-back-to-rm3800-rm4000-per-tonne-in-april/124253

Sumber : Malay Mail

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Last Updated: 20 March 2024

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KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): The mandatory general offer (MGO) by JAG Capital Holdings Bhd for KUB Malaysia Bhd, at 60 sen per share, has seen it obtain 163.82 million shares, equivalent to a 29.44% stake, in KUB.

This has bumped up JAG’s shareholding in KUB to 62.72% or 349 million shares, according to a statement issued by Maybank Investment Bank, on behalf of JAG.

JAG said in the circular to shareholders that it does not intend to keep KUB’s listing status if it secures 90% of all KUB shares, but would keep KUB listed if it secures between 75% and 90%.

JAG is controlled by Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, who holds a 98.75% stake in the company.

On Jan 9, 2024, JAG was obliged to make an MGO for KUB after it had bought 1.79 million KUB shares on the open market, which raised its shareholding in the listed entity to 33.28%.

Prior to that, KUB proposed a related party transaction to buy a 86.65% stake in cables and wire manufacturer Central Cables Bhd (CCB) from its major shareholder JAG for RM119.42 million, by issuing redeemable convertible preference shares.

Shares of KUB have traded largely range-bound between 50 sen and 60 sen in the last two years.  On Monday, the counter closed one sen or 1.7% lower at 58.5 sen, valuing it at RM326 million.

https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/705037

Sumber : The Edge Malaysia

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Last Updated: 20 March 2024

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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) expects a decline in crude palm oil (CPO) prices in April, ranging between RM3,800 and RM4,000 per tonne, from the current RM4,250, due to increased soybean supply from South America and the gradual rise in palm oil production within Malaysia.

"Palm oil prices were trading at a premium of US$40 to US$95 per tonne above soft oils in March.Therefore, a recovery in soft oil prices is anticipated in April to narrow the price spread," said MPOC in a note today.

CPO prices surged to a 12-month high on March 15, climbing nearly 10 per cent above the February closing price.

MPOC attributes this strong price trend in the first quarter of 2024 to the deficit supply growth dynamic.

In February 2024, Malaysian palm oil stocks continued their downward trend, dropping by 5.0 per cent to 1.92 million tonnes, marking their lowest level since July 2023, primarily driven by reduced imports and robust domestic consumption.

MPOC reported a staggering 70 per cent year-on-year decrease in Malaysian palm oil imports in the first two months of 2024, plummeting to 0.062 million tonnes, which only accounted for 6.90 per cent of total imports in 2023. 

Historically, Malaysian palm oil inventory heavily relied on imports for buildup. Hence, closely monitoring upcoming import figures is deemed crucial to gauge palm oil stock levels in Malaysia.

Strong domestic consumption also contributed to the decline in stocks, with January and February 2024 witnessing an 11.30 per cent growth compared to the same period in 2023. 

MPOC said Malaysia's palm oil stocks will not see any growth in March, particularly during the Ramadan month and production is not expected to increase until April and beyond.

As the low season for palm oil production concludes in March, it sees that palm oil prices may begin to reflect the recovery in production and inventory levels in April and May, potentially capping palm oil prices.

Moreover, the price premium of palm oil over soft oils widened in March, surpassing the prices of three major soft oils concurrently since February in the European market.

Furthermore, the recent announcement by the Indonesian Palm Oil Association regarding Indonesia's palm oil inventory of 3.14 million tonnes as of December 2023 further indicated tight palm oil supply. 

MPOC predicts that the combined palm oil stocks of Malaysia and Indonesia will be less than 5 million tonnes in February 2024.

In 2024, global palm oil production is expected to rise minimally by 0.11 per cent, while production growth for soybean oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil is projected to increase by 2.88 per cent, 3.48 per cent and 3.94 per cent respectively.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/03/1027643/cpo-prices-fall-between-rm3800-rm4000-tonne-april-mpoc

Sumber : New Straits Times