KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Malaysia’s industry players are counting down to April 1, hoping for an economic reset when the government officially announces the country’s start of its transition to Covid-19 endemicity.
He said the current worker shortage in the palm oil sector is down by 25 to 30 per cent of what the industry actually needs. Malaysia is one the largest producers and exporters of palm oil in the world, accounting for 11 per cent of the world's oils and fats production and 27 per cent of export trade of oils and fats, second only to Indonesia.
Another industry that is looking forward to April 1 and the intake of new workers from abroad is rubber production, which had benefited from a sharp spike in global demand when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in late 2019. Supramaniam said the industry hires only 0.9 per cent of the total foreign workforce but their per capita income was high. At the moment, he estimated a shortage of about 20,000 workers.
On December 19 last year, Saravanan and Bangladesh’s Expatriates and Overseas Welfare Minister Imran Ahmed, lifting a freeze imposed since September 1, 2018 by the then Pakatan Harapan government. Other areas where the manpower shortage is highly visible include retail and food and beverage industry players.on business flourishing once the country moves into the endemic stage.
Now, he said it’s at 8 per cent, causing industries like the manufacturing sector unable to fulfill orders. Soh said there are still challenges that could hamper the industry such as the spread of the Omicron variant and the rise in raw materials costs and higher sea freight charges which will continue to rise due to global container shortages.