Home ›› 20 Apr 2023 ›› Nation
Salt production in Cox’s Bazar has magnified due to the intense heatwave sweeping across the country.
While people elsewhere are praying for rain to escape the unbearable heat salt farmers in the district are currently busy keeping up with the boosted production.
Salt production depends on uninterrupted heat from the sun, making this an ideal time for production.
According to related sources, the daily production of salt during this intense heat has been twice as much compared to other times. A record of 35,000-40,000 tonnes of salt is being produced on 66,291 acres of land in Chattogram’s Banshkhali upazila and Cox’s Bazar district daily.
Some 50,000 marginal farmers related to salt production are happy with the turnout. They expect a bumper harvest this year if favourable conditions prevail throughout the month of Baisakh.
During the current season, the production in the last four months has been a little more than 16 lakh tonnes. Experts believe it will be possible to meet the domestic annual demand of 23 lakh tonnes of salt by this month.
However, the farmers say that natural calamities, cyclones, or storms may disrupt salt production. If it rains for a day, salt production gets halted for about a week.
According to the information of Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), salt production season is from November 15 to May 15. The target of salt production in these lands has been fixed at 23 lakh tonnes.
In the current season, salt is being produced on 66,291 acres of land in Cox’s Bazar’s Moheshkhali, Kutubdia, Pekua, Chakaria, Ramu upazilas, Sadar’s Eidgaon union, and Chattogram’s Banshkhali.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), there may be multiple depressions and a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this month. If the predictions come true, salt production will be severely hampered.
On-spot visitation of various areas of Cox’s Bazar revealed farmers busy with salt production. They spread black tarpaulin on small square enclosures and put seawater in them to dry out and leave unrefined salt behind.
Some farmers are stockpiling their harvest in pits, sacks or warehouses to be sold at the end of the season.
Idris Ali, Field Inspector of the BSCIC Salt Development Project, said that during the last season, a maximum of 30 tonnes of salt was produced daily.
“This season, as a result of the intense heatwave, some 35,000-40,000 tonnes of salt is being produced daily for the past few days, which is the highest salt production of the season,” he said.
According to BSCIC official sources, salt is being sold at Tk 410-420 per maund at the field level. On average some Tk 40 crore worth of salt is being produced daily in the coastal districts.
Deputy General Manager of BSCIC’s Salt Development Project Md Jafar Iqbal Bhuiyan said usually there are storms in mid-April that halt salt production for about a week or so. “If such a situation prevails this time too, the farmers will suffer,” he said.
Talking to the salt farmers, this correspondent found that salt production was stopped for seven consecutive days due to stormy winds and rains on April 2. Salt production started again in full swing on April 10. Earlier, salt production was stopped for seven days due to stormy winds and rains on March 20.
Md Alam, a salt farmer, said that currently, each maund of salt produced in the field is being sold at Tk 410-420. The cost of salt production per maund including labour and transportation is more than Tk 280.
President of Cox’s Bazar Salt Cultivation Welfare Association Mostafa Kamal Chowdhury said the price of salt is being determined differently from time to time by syndicates.
“Last February, farmers sold salt at Tk 250-300 per maund, in March at Tk 320-370, and now at Tk 410-420. The farmers’ demand was to fix the price of salt at Tk 500 per maund,” he added.
