Palm oil players laud initiative to boost mechanisation of industry

KOTA KINABALU: Stakeholders representing the interest of the Malaysian palm oil supply chain applaud the initiative taken to utilise the additional cess of RM2 per tonne imposed on crude palm oil (CPO) and crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) which came into force on 1 March 2021 to support the establishment of a new industry consortium platform to boost mechanisation and automation in the industry.

The stakeholders said they are very appreciative of the Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Dato' Dr Mohd Khairuddin bin Aman Razali for his foresight towards the setting up of the Mechanisation and Automation Research Consortium of Oil Palm (MARCOP) which will involve the participation of the relevant industry stakeholders together with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB).

"This was in line with our earlier humble appeal," The Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA), The Malaysian Estate Owners' Association (MEOA), The

National Association of Smallholders (NASH), The Palm Oil Millers Association (POMA), The Sarawak Oil Palm Plantation Owners Association (SOPPOA), The Palm Oil Refiners Association of Malaysia (PORAM), The Malaysian Oleochemical Manufacturers (MOMG), The Malayan Agricultural Producers Association (MAPA) and The Incorporated Society of Planters (ISP) said in a joint statement on Thursday.

The above association applauds the initiative taken to utilise the additional cess of RM2 per tonne imposed on crude palm oil (CPO) and crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) which came into force on 1 March 2021 and will be used to support the establishment of a new industry consortium platform to boost mechanisation and automation in the industry.

Following the increase, the cess levied on each tonne of the palm oil products now stands at RM16 per metric tonne, from RM14 per metric tonne previously. The associations have earlier estimated that the amended cess order 2021 will add about RM44 million per year to the MPOB cess coffer.

The arrangement will involve the first RM30 million collected from the revised MPOB Cess (Order) (Amendment) 2021 to complement an earlier approved RM30 million matching grants as announced by the government in Budget 2021, thus providing a total start-up fund of RM60 million for MARCOP.

Thus, in light of the gazetted additional cess, there will not be another supplementary and new cess for the purpose of MARCOP.

The minister was quoted to say that the new platform will step up the use of technology and equipment to optimise operational efficiency and increase productivity, while also helping to address the manpower shortage in the oil palm industry.

This is in line with the associations' aspiration.

MARCOP will function as a neutral body to manage collaborations that are to be intensified through strategic partnerships with the purpose of addressing oil palm mechanisation, especially in harvesting technology.

The industry and the other relevant stakeholders have acknowledged that strategic partnerships in mechanisation should be the key R&D focus and top priority going forward to address the plantation sector's high manpower dependency.

The application of disruptive technologies would lead towards being the enabler and the driver for innovations. The establishment of MARCOP will be in line with the Malaysian government's thrust and priority focused on Industry 4.0 and mechanisation-cum-automation in which the minister and his Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities have also been promoting and advocating.

MARCOP's priority focus will be on harvesting of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from the oil palm trees. The fact remains that the century-old oil palm plantation industry has yet to develop a practical, durable, and cost-effective automated mechanised harvesting tool, especially for tall palm trees.

With the advent of Industry 4.0 and AI related technologies, including the recent developments of drones, lasers and exoskeleton technologies, the drive towards attaining such cost-effective harvesting systems can potentially be achieved sooner – and this is extremely vital amid the continued shortage of workers, especially harvesters.

The acute labour shortage has been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic situation, resulting in huge crop losses, and consequently losses in revenue for growers and the coffers of the Federal and State governments.

"It is a significant opportunity loss amid favourable CPO prices of today. Together, all stakeholders working in partnership can now embark on nurturing and sustaining the mechanisation efforts for the Malaysian palm oil industry towards greater heights," they said.