PETALING JAYA: Restrictions on the workforce brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic have accelerated the need for the palm oil industry to adopt new technologies and achieve greater efficiency, industry experts said.
This and caps on the development of new plantation land have forced growers and millers to seek ways to maximise their yield from existing crops.
Speaking at the virtual “Future-proof Palm Oil” forum, players said innovation is needed in the sector for the industry to keep up with the expected increase in global demand for palm oil.
Tan Chee Fai, vice-president of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), said the pandemic was a “catalyst for change” in the industry as limitations on the number of workers allowed on site had emphasised the need for automation.
He said greater adoption of data collection techniques will open a lot of doors for stakeholders as it will give them improved insight into the parts of their business that they can optimise.
“With true automation, data can be put into a server or the cloud. A company can analyse that to extract the information so they can plan better and have more efficient processes in place.”
He added that the collected data could also be used to train artificial intelligence, which can be used to identify damaged or low-grade crops to improve the quality of the final product and save money.
Hong Wai Onn of the Institution of Chemical Engineers in Malaysia (IChemE Malaysia) said the use of biotechnology could also provide new efficiency pathways for millers, as many are yet to take advantage of enzymes as a way to improve their yield.
As these cause more thorough breakdown of cell walls, enzymatic processes allow for greater extraction of oils, he said.
Hong cited a study conducted on Malaysian milling operations that found a 4% increase in yield when enzymes are used in the extraction process.
He added that new discoveries could also turn “waste into wealth” for producers as biotechnology had the potential to greatly simplify the conversion of the discarded palm sludge oil into biodiesel, which now requires an expensive industrial process.