Bac Lieu salt costs only 900 VND per kilogram while a Singaporean enterprise once introduced a beauty salt with 100 grams priced at 1.8 million VND, according to the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee.
The information was given by Mr. Pham Van Thieu, Chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People’s Committee, at a press conference to inform about the Vietnam – Bac Lieu Salt Festival 2024 on the afternoon of July 5.
Mr. Pham Van Thieu, Chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People’s Committee, spoke at the meeting on the afternoon of July 5. Photo: Cheers Ly
The head of Bac Lieu government said that the salt industry has existed for a long time in the province, but salt farmers are still in dire straits. Currently, black salt is sold by people for 900 VND per kilogram, the most expensive type of salt spread on a tarpaulin is only 1,200 VND per kilogram.
He said that unlike other foods like rice, salt is essential but each person cannot eat too much at once, leading to a small consumption. Therefore, to sell salt in large quantities, producers must think of ways to diversify their products.
“A Singaporean company once sent me 100 grams of beauty salt for 1.8 million VND. This is a type of salt that has been processed with technology and intelligence,” said Mr. Thieu, adding that the locality does not have a unit that can process many products from salt such as for medical treatment, beauty or other high-end products. Therefore, the province needs more partners to process such products from salt in Bac Lieu to sell to the world, increasing the value of salt grains.
The Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Lieu province also acknowledged that if the value of the salt industry is not promoted and preserved, in 5-10 years, Bac Lieu will no longer have a salt industry, because people work hard but the profits are not high.
In early April, Mr. Thieu had a working session with the consortium of Hoang Phat Group Investment Joint Stock Company, Agri Viet Food Company Limited and Grand International Investment Private Company Limited of Singapore. The businesses are looking for investment opportunities in high-quality salt production and processing projects in the province.
Bac Lieu salt is produced in Bac Lieu. Photo: Cheers Ly
Bac Lieu has about 1,500 hectares of salt production, supplying tens of thousands of tons of products to the market each year. In the 2023 crop, the province’s salt output will reach over 27,000 tons, of which more than 7,300 tons will be white salt spread on canvas, the rest will be traditional salt.
At the end of 2020, the salt making profession in Bac Lieu province was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Bac Lieu salt is not only popular and widely used domestically but also exported to other countries, especially the Japanese and Korean markets…
The Vietnam – Bac Lieu Salt Festival will take place in the province from December 26-28. The event has 10 main activities such as field surveys of production, seminars related to development, consumption, and enhancing the value of salt grains.
Cheers Ly