Stop making excuses, Mydin boss tells vegetable farmers

Source: Free Malaysia Today
Author: Amirul Aiman

PETALING JAYA: The managing director of a hypermarket chain has told vegetable farmers to "stop making excuses" to justify a price hike, amid warnings of a potential 40% drop in production attributed to rising market prices and a labour crisis.

Ameer Ali Mydin said there ought to be a sufficient supply of labour. He said the government had previously approved the recruitment of a significant number of foreign workers for the plantation industry.

"Even though this has been suspended, many (foreign workers) were allowed in previous years.

"Therefore, industries should not use the lack of foreign workers as an excuse, since the government has already approved a significant number for farming," he said.

Last Wednesday, Berita Harian reported that market prices were expected to surge next month, tied to an anticipated 40% decrease in the supply of vegetables.

Earlier, on March 8, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail announced that Putrajaya had set March 31 as the deadline for hiring foreign workers under its Labour Recalibration Programme 2.0.

As of March 18 last year, 20,970 foreign workers had been approved under the government's Foreign Worker Employment Relaxation Plan.

Despite this, the Malaysian Federation of Vegetable Farmers Association president Lim Ser Kwee, said last week he expected conditions to worsen. Many Indonesian and Bangladeshi nationals will leave the country by mid-Ramadan, he said, some among whom are unlikely to return.

Ameer, however, dismissed those fears, saying it should not lead to labour shortages.

It's a recurring event every year but should not be a cause for concern," he said.

Meanwhile, economist Barjoyai Bardai said the government should expedite food security projects to mitigate the impact of labour shortages on vegetable production.

The Universiti Tun Abdul Razak economist said farmers should be encourage to undertake small-scale farming of vegetables under palm trees and in interstitial areas to boost supply.

"This could serve as a foundation for the growth of the food security industry," he said.

Barjoyai called on the government to take prompt steps to enhance the food industry to ensure long-term food security for the country.

"We need to pursue agriculture more seriously. We need to establish a marketing network where we will directly market (agriculture products) with home delivery or through wholesale and farmers' markets."