Red-Hot Rally in Palm Oil Reveals Dirty Jobs That No One Wants

High rate of attrition for local workers on Malaysian estates
Companies are seeking to boost yields with new technology

Workers load harvested palm oil fruit bunches onto a truck at a plantation in Selangor, Malaysia, earlier in January.Photographer: Samsul Said/Bloomberg

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By Anuradha Raghu

January 27, 2022 at 12:00 AM UTC

Updated on

January 27, 2022 at 5:26 AM UTC

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Oil palm planters in Malaysia are confronting a hard truth -- behind the red-hot rally in prices are thousands of jobs that nobody wants.

While high prices typically encourage planting and production of crops, output in No. 2 grower Malaysia slumped to a five-year low last year and planters say the main reason for that is the industry’s worst-ever shortage of workers.