Own reporter: This time the price of salt is increasing gradually. Per bag (75 kg) has increased by about Tk 400. The price of packaged edible salt in the market has also increased by two-three rupees per kg. 90 percent of the country’s salt mills are closed due to the shortage of raw materials. Salt traders said that there was a shortage of 5 lakh tonnes of salt in proportion to the annual demand in the country. But import approval has been given for one and a half lakh tonnes. Once again, the mafias have entered due to the licensing of imports by category. As a result, the salt stock has gone to a few big mill owners in the country. So the price of salt is increasing due to shortage.
Now the salt production season is starting. It will take the middle of next January for the new season’s salt to arrive. As a result, there is no salt in the country to meet the demand of the next two and a half months. It is feared that the price may increase further in the future. Traders said that the price of 800/900 taka per sack of salt is now being sold at 1,350 taka. Iodized open salt is being sold at Tk 1,500 per bag.
Those concerned said that currently the farmers do not have any salt stock. About 48,000 tons of salt are stored with middlemen. And the mill owners have about 100,000 tons of salt in stock. With these salts, the market demand cannot be met until the arrival of the new season salt. According to BCIC, the country has a monthly demand of around 2.5 lakh tonnes of salt.
President of Bangladesh Salt Mill Owners Association Nurul Kabir told the media that due to lack of opportunity to import salt in time to meet the shortage, there has been a crisis in the market. Currently 90 percent of salt mills are closed due to crude salt crisis. In this opportunity some unscrupulous traders are illegally importing sodium sulphate. They are selling these sodium sulphate in the market as edible salt in packets. Public health is at serious risk. The new season’s salt mills will not hit the market before next February. Now open salt prices have increased and are being sold at Tk 1,500 per bag (75 kg).
Salt is produced in the coastal areas of Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Maheshkhali, Kutubdia, Chakria, Pekua and Banshkhali upazilas of Cox’s Bazar district. A target of 22 lakh 17 thousand tons of salt production has been set last year. In contrast, the production was 18 lakh 15 thousand tons. When asked, DGM Zafar Iqbal Bhuiyan of BCIC Cox’s Bazar office told the media that 48,000 tons of salt are currently stored in the field. And the mill owners have about 100,000 tons of salt in stock. Now the price has increased and each bag (75 kg) is being sold at Tk 1,320 at the mill gate. At present salt production has started in Kutubdia and Banshkhali. Some salt will be available in next 20/25 days. We have sent the data to the ministry. The ministry will take a decision if import is deemed necessary.
Apart from Chittagong, there are about 150 salt mines in Islampur area of Cox’s Bazar. Most of the salt mills are closed due to shortage of crude salt. President of Islampur Salt Mill Owners Association Shamsul Alam Azad told the media, “There was a shortage of about 5 lakh tons of salt compared to the demand. Categorizing the importation of salt has led to the entry of mafias. Among them, large mills got 10 thousand tons and small mills got 5/6 thousand tons. As a result, few mill owners got the opportunity to import salt. The rest of the mill owners have no salt. If everyone was given the opportunity to import, the match would not have stopped. The market would be in equilibrium. One of my two mills is closed due to shortage of crude salt.’
