Difficulty at the salt capital

On the afternoon of April 13, the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) led by Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam worked with Ninh Thuan province on the salt production situation of this province.

Difficult consumption, low price

Mr. Dang Kim Cuong, Director of Ninh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Ninh Thuan is a locality with favorable conditions for salt production thanks to its high salt concentration in seawater, clean sea environment, long dry season, sunny, windy and year-round hot weather. In addition, farmers have a long tradition and experience of salt production, which satisfies the salt industry's needs in the province on a large scale.

According to the planning for the 2016-2020 period, the total land area for salt production in Ninh Thuan province is 3,267 hectares, with the average annual salt production of 450,000-500,000 tons / year. In the first 4 months of 2021, the total area put into salt production was 3,078 hectares, reaching 94.2% of the plan. In which, the area of industrial salt production is 2,447 hectares, of salt farmers is 631 hectares, with the total production of 133,760 tons, a decrease of 120,000 tons compared to the same period in 2020.

Regarding the organization of production, industrial salt is produced and consumed by BIM Group and Dam Vua Salt Company. Salt produced by farmers is mainly concentrated in the area of ​​Ninh Hai district. Most of the traditional production is by individual households, so there are many difficulties in production, including the common situation of bumper crops forcing prices low. 

Given this situation, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development supported Ninh Hai district to establish Khanh Nhon Salt Cooperative in Nhon Hai commune and 2 Salt Production Cooperative Groups in Tri Hai commune to link the organization of salt production and consumption for farmers.

According to Mr. Cuong, in the first months of this year, the salt output has decreased compared to the same period of the previous years, but the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic has doubled the difficulties in salt consumption with price falling low.

Regarding the management of quality and safety of processed salt, the agricultural sector has issued a Certificate of Food Safety Qualification for 4 salt collectors and 5 salt processing establishments. In addition, there are 3 processors that are applying for ISO: 2200.

Regarding the salt production and processing orientation of the province in the coming time, Mr. Dang Kim Cuong said, in the period 2025-2030, Ninh Thuan would maintain a stable area of ​​ 3,267 hectares, with the output to 2025 and 2030 relatively reaching 550,000 tons / year and 650,000 tons / year.

Accordingly, for industrial salt production, high-grade refined salt processing and post-salt chemical industry will be developed. For traditional salt production, farmers will develop production under major field links, in which cooperatives act as the core and provide general services for member farmers to form a value chain from production, processing to consumption.

Mr. Tran Thanh, Manager of Khanh Nhon Salt Cooperative, said this cooperative was established in 2018 with production area of 50 hectares, along with another 50 hectares linked with farmers around the region. However, at present, this cooperative is facing many difficulties in finding long-term buyers. They mainly sell salt to businesses on individual contracts, so the prices are usually low.

In addition, the cooperative does not have adequate storage for salt, the infrastructure is degraded, the transportation of salt from the fields has to be done through intermediaries, so the cost becomes higher than it should. The mechanization for the whole process cannot be done due to the lack of capital.

Mr. Bui Xuan Long, Chairman of Viet Salt Joint Stock Company, said that currently the biggest bottleneck of the salt industry in general and in Ninh Thuan in particular is the transportation cost. According to Mr. Long, now the company has brought salt harvesting and washing machines to deploy in Ninh Thuan, but this is only applicable for large-scale enterprises. For traditional salt production, due to its small scale, the first thing is to ensure clean water sources, clean foundation to have clean salt products, while at the same time, to focus on processing salt, diversifying products to increase the value, thus increasing income for the farmers. 

Building a pilot model

Mr. Le Duc Thinh, Director of Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development, said that Ninh Thuan is the locality with the largest salt production and area in the country. The purpose of the mission of the MARD delegation to survey salt areas in Ninh Thuan is not only to invest in infrastructure, but together with the province to find the most effective production model to improve efficiency, such as mechanization, consumer market, product diversification ...

Therefore, Ninh Thuan province must soon formulate a development strategy for the salt industry in accordance with the Government's strategy for the development of the salt industry in order to gradually replace imported salt.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said that the current income of the salt industry is very low. At this point, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will submit to the Government the project for the development of the salt industry. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will build a pilot model in Ninh Thuan to increase the value of the salt industry and improve the lives of salt farmers.

Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam suggested Ninh Thuan province quickly build a strategic project for the development of the salt industry for MARD to appraise and then submit to the Government. As for how to build the project, after surveying the reality of salt production areas of Ninh Thuan, it will be specifically planned together with the locality.

On April 14, Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam will join the delegation and leaders of Ninh Thuan province and departments to survey salt areas of Ninh Thuan province.