Salt farmers fear losses

Salt producers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are not cheered by the prospects of a bumper crop.

Instead they are worried they will make huge losses because of falling prices and the presence of imported salt in the local market.

Experts have said salt farmers in the delta would have a bumper crop because of the continuously hot weather conditions predicted to last until April.

Salt production in Bac Lieu Province’s Dong Hai District might be as high as 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes this crop, said Mai Thanh Hung, deputy head of the district’s agriculture and rural development division.

But Trinh Van Thanh, a farmer in the district’s Long Dien Tay Commune, said: “Salt prices have been falling for a month. Earlier this year, dealers paid VND25,000-27,000 per 30kg of white salt and VND20,000 for brown salt, but the rates now are VND20,000 and VND14,000, respectively.”

“There have been situations when no dealers have come to buy salt,” Thanh added.

Thanh has produced 100 tonnes of white salt so far, but he has sold only 10 tonnes to the Dong Hai Salt Company, and is waiting to sell the remaining. He expects to have another 100 tonnes at the end of the latest crop, which has cost him VND110 million (US$ 5800) in investment.

“In previous years, dealers flocked to our salt fields, but now I see very few people,” said Nguyen Van Thuong, another farmer in the commune.

The situation is not much better in the delta’s Ben Tre Province.

Ngo Van Cao, deputy chairman of the province’s Bao Thanh Commune, the provincial hub for salt production, said the fall in price had been a double letdown for farmers since they were hoping a bumper crop would compensate for losses caused by heavy rains in January.

Farmer Nguyen Van Ngang in the province’s Thanh Phuoc Commune said: “I worry about making no profit at rates of VND20,000-22,000 per 30kg.”

Salt from delta farmers is used to process and store seafood, for fish sauce and many other purposes. However, local farmers have to compete with imported salt, and this is bringing down prices.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued a quota for importing 260,000 tonnes of salt this year, the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reported last week. Experts estimate that the imported salt would be sold at VND24,000 per 30kg after tax, lower than the VND25,000-27,000 that farmers expected to sell their salt for.

Experts have also said that most facilities preferred imported salt due to its cleanliness and degree of whiteness

Le Xuan, director of the Agro-Forestry-Fishery Products Processing and Trade Department, explained that the ministry had allowed salt imports because the country’s need had been estimated at 1.3 million tonnes, while production was said to be between one and 1.1 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, Hung of Dong Hai District said the locality was struggling to sell 32,000 tonnes of harvested salt. Hua Si Hung, head of the district’s agriculture and rural development sub division, said he was having a tough time to handle the increasing quantity of harvested salt that had not been sold.

“Salt farmers are facing many difficulties since they have taken loans to invest in production,” he said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Tags: Vietnam salt, Vietnam salt import