Home ›› 31 Aug 2021 ›› Front
The government’s move to ban salt import three years ago is yielding fruit, setting up the stage for the country to achieve self-sufficiency.
Bangladesh produced 16.51 lakh tonnes of salt in FY20-21 against a demand of 16.61 lakh tonnes, according to Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) data. But last year, the country had a stock of 20 lakh tonnes.
On August 1, the national stock fell to 9.57 lakh tonnes – 7.51 lakh tonnes at the field level and 2.06 lakh tonnes with the millers. Bangladesh exported 2.85 tonnes of salt to Gambia and Switzerland last year.
Salt production increased last year although the amount of land decreased, BSCIC data show. In FY18-19, shortly after the import ban, farmers produced 18.24 lakh tonnes of salt against a demand of 16.57 lakh tonnes.
In FY14-15, the production was 12.82 lakh tonnes, about 6 lakh tonnes short of the demand. That year, BSCIC allowed the import of 2 lakh tonnes of salt.
As production grew, the country imported 5 lakh tonnes of salt in FY16-17, when production was 13.64 lakh tonnes against a demand of 15.76 tonnes.
Discouraging salt import
Mollah Salt Limited’s General Manager Abdul Mannan said there was no bar to import industrial salts although importing table salt (Sodium Chloride) was banned.
Traders had to pay 89.32 per cent duty on salt import, but that did not deter them from import. The National Salt Policy 2016 allowed import under “special permission” if the annual production fails to meet the local demand because of natural calamities and other reasons.
A kg imported salt cost Tk 1-2 less than locally produced salt. In FY19-20, traders imported 11.22 lakh tonnes on special permissions from Bangladesh Investment Development Authority.
But industry insiders say the traders imported table salt in the pretext of industrial salt.
To discourage the practice and help the local market flourish, the government raised the duty to 100 per cent from the current FY. “This means importing a kg of salt will cost more than procuring it locally,” explained BMC Super Salt Managing Director Jashim Uddin Khan.
A senior BSCIC official said the average yearly demand for industrial salt is around 9.5 lakh tonnes. “When tanners have a good collection of raw hides, the demand for salt increases. The same goes for some drug makers as demand for some medicine fluctuates,” he said. He said the demand for industrial salt was 7.53 lakh tonnes and edible salt was 9.08 lakh tonnes in FY20-21.
He said the import of sodium sulphate or disodium sulphate and sodium chloride remained banned for the last three years. Still, some traders continue to import sodium sulphate or disodium sulphate in the pretext of industrial salt, manipulating the legal loopholes.
On track to self-sufficiency
Md Jafar Iqbal Bhuiyan, Deputy General Manager of Cox’s Bazar Salt Development Project under BSCIC, said the production depends on weather and farming area. Salt production was hit-hard during the Covid-19 pandemic as farmers switched to shrimp farming to earn more, he said.
“If the farmers get a fair price, then they would use more land for salt farming,” he added.
Most of the salt farmers have no land and take land on lease. Salt production will increase if the government allocates khas lands to the farmers, he said.
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun told The Business Post, “The country is on track to become self-sufficient in salt production. We are committed to become self-reliant in salt production and meet the people’s iodine requirement through policy supports.”
BMC Super Salt’s Jashim said 171 out of 270 salt refining mills are in production. Most of the refiners utilise only 40 per cent of their capacity.
The industry stands on the crude salt produced by the marginal farmers in the coastal districts using solar evaporation method from November to May, they said.
Jashim said refiners collect crude salt at Tk 7 per kg and sell it to wholesalers for Tk 12-14 per kg. Wholesalers sell it at Tk 16-18 per kg to retailers and finally, at the consumers’ level, the price reaches Tk 28-35.
In the last FY, BSCIC wrote to the land ministry for allocating 14,000 acres of khas land for salt farming in the coastal districts.
Bangladesh has 75,000 acres of land suitable for salt farming. Farmers used 54,000 acres last FY to produce 16.51 lakh tonnes of salt (30.56 tonnes per acre).
BSCIC has been urging the government to provide 21,000 more acres for salt farming to make Bangladesh self-sufficient in salt.
More land for salt farming will translate into higher production and jobs for people. Around 50 lakh people are currently involved in the sector.
Surplus stock
BSCIC Chairman Mostaque Hassan told The Business Post that the country now has a surplus salt stock against the demand. He said the BSCIC supports salt farmers by promoting and providing them with various services like disseminating technical knowledge among them and providing them with market information.
Nurul Kabir, President of the Bangladesh Salt Industries Owners’ Association, said that raising the supplementary duty on salt import helped the industry expand.
Md Hannan Mia, president of Cox’s Bazar Laban Chashi Samity, accused the millers manipulate the production and price of crude salt. “They sometimes indirectly create pressure on authorities concerned to allow import,” he said.
Shafiq Mia, a salt farmer in Cox’s Bazar, said farming salt is no more lucrative for farmers nowadays as the production cost for 40 kg salt stands at Tk 250 but the average market price for 40 kg salt is Tk 140 to Tk 180.
Junayed Hossain, a salt farmer in Cox’s Bazar, said he switched to shrimp farming instead of farming salt on his one acre of land. “Salt price was too low in the past two years,” he said.
