Over the years, Mr. Phan Van Phuc, 71 years old, Hoa Binh district, has cleared a lot of uncultivated land to make salt, earning a profit of more than billion dong per crop.
On the first day of May, one of Mr. Phuc’s family’s salt fields of more than 2 hectares in Vinh Lac hamlet, Vinh Thinh commune, was at peak harvest. Under the blazing sun, workers are busy raking and carrying salt in time to deliver it to customers.
Mr. Phuc examined the white salt grain. Image: An Minh
Mr. Phuc’s parents were among the first salt farmers to explore unused land in Vinh Thinh commune, creating vast salt fields. Continuing the family tradition, in 1979, Mr. Phuc was discharged from the army and returned home to get married and start a salt industry.
Initially, Mr. Phuc explored about 6 hectares of land in Vinh Tien hamlet, Vinh Thinh commune. In this area, the land was deserted, salty alum, and full of fish sauce trees. He and his wife created a surface and built a surrounding embankment to make salt. In the beginning, there was not much experience and the embankment was not solid, so the output was very low.
Mr. Phuc spent about 50 million VND to invest, but in the first 2 years he had to suffer losses. By the third year, the family’s salt fields had stable yields and he began to break even. A year later, production activities gradually improved, and his family could make a living with the profession.
“At this time, I often have to stay up all night to watch to get sea water into the salt yard,” Mr. Phuc said. Sea water is brought to the field, then undergoes evaporation under the sun, then crystallizes into salt grains. The whole process takes about 2 months. The salt season falls in 4 months starting from December of the previous year to April of the following year. Farmers can harvest 3-4 times per crop.
The salt pile covered with tarpaulin of Mr. Phan Van Phuc’s family. Image: An Minh
Having profit from his profession, Mr. Phuc accumulated and bought more land, expanding production area. By 2000, he owned 45 hectares of land for salt production, each year harvesting over 75,000 bushels of salt (30 kg each bushel). Up to now, he is the person with the largest salt production area in the region. Each case he earns about one billion VND in profit.
According to Mr. Phuc, the salt industry has a paradox: every year it wins big, prices drop, and every year the weather is not favorable, output is low, prices rise. Because of the instability in output and prices, the income of salt farmers is unstable. Many households with little capital and lack of storage can easily fall into poverty and have to quit their jobs.
For many years in the profession, Mr. Phuc believes that in order to make quality salt, farmers need to prepare a very flat, clean yard, with a guaranteed water source. This is also the condition that makes salt grains reach the level of saltiness but not bitterness, which is favored by the market.
He said that salt prices usually increase every 3-4 seasons. Producers sell immediately after harvesting and the price will not be high, especially in years of good harvest and large output. Therefore, he proactively built many warehouses to store them, only to sell them when the price was right.
Due to soil characteristics, Bac Lieu salt is considered salty but not bitter. Image: An Minh
Thanks to his attachment to the salt industry, Mr. Phuc’s family became well off. He currently has more than 20 hectares of land for salt production, three warehouses with a capacity of about 30,000 bushels, and 2 hectares to invest in spreading tarpaulins to make white salt. He taught the profession and gave his children many salt fields to start a business.
Mr. Tran Minh Duc, Chairman of Vinh Thinh Commune People’s Committee, said that Mr. Phuc’s family is the largest salt producer in the locality. He regularly supports households with the same profession, creating jobs for many idle workers in the commune.
Bac Lieu is one of the provinces with the largest salt area in the country with nearly 1,400 hectares. Salt production is a traditional local profession with more than 100 years of history. In 2020, the salt making profession in the province was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage.
Bac Lieu salt is not only widely used domestically but also exported to other countries, especially the Japanese and Korean markets… To preserve and improve the efficiency of the local salt industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development supported 130 billion VND for the project to upgrade the province’s salt fields.
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