USDA slashes Malaysia palm oil output forecast by a million ton for 2022-23
Malaysia CPO production was slashed by a million tons to 18.80 million for the marketing year 2022-23 (Oct-21 to Aug-22) in the latest USDA FAS November report compared to 19.80 million tons projected in October and versus 18.152 million realized in the marketing year 2021-22. Production outlook was cut mainly on persistent issues of foreign labor hire. Promises from the government on a Memorandum of Understanding on foreign labor hire and systems for hiring failed to materialize in a significant way. Malaysia has been facing a shortage of over 100,000 workers in the oil palm plantation sector, especially for harvesting activity since the pandemic-induced border closure in 2020.