Vietnam faces first salt shortage in 50 years
Source: 25-JUL-2008 Intellasia | Thanhniennews
Jul 25, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM An additional quota to import 200,000 tonnes of salt was suggested Tuesday by concerned authorities to address a looming national shortage.

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Mard), domestic salt production in the past six months is much lower than initially predicted, with expected bad weather on the horison due to impact the remaining harvests.

Statistics from Mard showed that 539,000 tonnes of salt were produced in the first six months of the year.

Salt productivity is expected to reach 950,000 tonnes for the whole year, which is 200,000 tonnes less than originally planned.

Most salt fields in southern areas have been harvested, while heavy rain is supposed to adversely affect the fields in central and northern provinces, the ministry said.

Up to May, local companies had used up 70% of a 230,000-tonne quota for 2008 to import salt.

Mard said it had suggested the government sanction a new quota to import 200,000 tonnes of salt to cope with the potential shortage.

Earlier this year, the ministry had estimated a domestic salt demand of 1.38 million tonnes for 2008, which was to be met by a domestic production figure of 1.1 million tonnes coupled with 50,000 tonnes drawn from storage and 230,000 tonnes imported.

Vice director of Vietnam National Salt Corp Le Nguyen Chuong said it has been 50 years since the nation last suffered a salt shortage.

Bad weather had reduced the productivity of salt fields throughout the country, as strong cold spells and continuous rain in many areas led to meager salt harvests, Chuong said.

Salt productivity in some areas this year only reached 70% of figures achieved at the same time last year.

Moreover, many salt fields have been converted into industrial sites and urban areas, including the fields in the central provinces of Binh Thuan and Thanh Hoa.

The salt fields in Binh Thuan's Ca Na area, which used to boast the nation's highest productivity mark of 50,000 tonnes per year, were transformed in a project to construct an industrial zone.

Many salt farmers also quit work and turned to other types of cultivation, saying the salt crop hadn't reaped much benefit.

Due to low productivity, salt prices have jumped fourfold compared to last year's figure.

Factory price costs around 1,800 dong (US$6.1) per kilogram while retail price is more than 4,000 dong (US$0.2) per kilogram on the market.

Many salt factories reported they have downsised their businesses due to the limited supply of unprocessed salt.

Mard has announced that the cost of imported salt would be over US$100 per tonne a drastic markup from the estimated world price of US$20-25 per tonne.