Salt produced in Nghe An is exported to the US and Japan.

(Baonghean.vn) - Quynh Luu (Nghe An) currently has about 600 hectares of salt with an output of more than 60,000 tons/year. Currently, many companies and businesses have invested in production lines for clean salt and iodized salt for export to the US and Japanese markets.

Quynh Luu is the largest salt granary in Nghe An province. Thanks to the local investment attraction policy, many companies and enterprises have boldly invested in clean salt and iodized salt production lines. Up to now, Quynh Luu salt has been successfully exported to the US and Japanese markets.

Yen Dong Salt Service Cooperative, Quynh Yen Commune (Quynh Luu) has nearly 130 hectares with 132 members participating in salt production. In previous years, salt prices continuously fell, causing many salt farmers to lose interest in production; many households abandoned their salt-making areas to go to work far away.

Salt farmers harvest salt on the crystallization plot of Yen Dong Cooperative, Quynh Yen Commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Nhu Thuy

In recent years, thanks to the attention of all levels of capital support and clean salt production techniques, members of the cooperative have applied the method of salt production using HDPE tarpaulin technology.

With the advantage of high heat of the canvas, the salt crystallizes quickly, so the productivity also increases by 10 - 15% compared to the conventional salt making method. In particular, the salt product has large, clean grains, without impurities such as sand, lime, meeting the input material requirements for salt processing factories for export.

"With the support of the provincial Department of Agricultural Development, the District Department of Agriculture is interested in supporting the Cooperative in the model of converting to filtering with 90ha/130ha. Currently, the Cooperative is piloting a model of spreading tarpaulin to crystallize on an area of ​​10ha, which has shown clear results, reducing labor and increasing income because the salt is more beautiful, the grains are big and white; currently, the companies are purchasing 100% of the products, so the salt farmers are very excited" - Mr. Hoang Van Chinh - Head of Yen Dong Salt Service Cooperative said.

Coarse salt before packaging products for export. Photo: Nhu Thuy

Quynh Luu district currently has nearly 600 hectares of salt production with an annual output of more than 60,000 tons; concentrated in the communes of Quynh Yen, Quynh Minh, An Hoa, Quynh Thuan, Quynh Nghia, and Quynh Tho. In order to contribute to increasing the value of raw salt for salt farmers, in recent years, the district has focused on attracting investment and loosening administrative procedures so that many salt processing companies have the opportunity to find raw material areas to build production factories locally.

Up to now, in the district, 4 factories have been established to process refined salt and iodized salt, including HaKaMatSu Salt Company, a joint venture between Japan, Nghe An Salt Company, Vinh Ngoc Salt Enterprise and Vietnam High Quality Salt Export Company Limited.

From processing activities, each year the units have purchased and consumed about 40,000 - 50,000 tons of raw salt for salt farmers, with revenue reaching approximately 10 billion VND.

Workers classify salt at a salt processing factory for export. Photo: Nhu Thuy

According to Mr. Hoang Duc Tinh, Manager of the high-quality export salt processing workshop in Vietnam, affirmed: Through surveying the salt material area from North to South, we found that Quynh Luu salt meets the standards for processing export products. The content of iron, sodium, natural magnesium... in the salt grains of Quynh Luu salt farmers is in accordance with the standards required by customers.

The company only needs to purchase salt, filter out micronutrients, sand and gravel, then grind and package it for export without adding or removing any micronutrients. This has helped the company a lot in terms of reducing labor, machinery and technology. Up to now, the factory exports salt to the US and Japan with a volume of 40 - 60 tons/month.

While the livestock and crop farming industries are facing difficulties due to plummeting prices, the good news for salt farmers is that this year, when the main salt production season begins, the price of raw salt has increased from 1,600 - 1,700 VND/kg (40,000 - 50,000 VND/quintal higher than the same period last year). Thanks to that, workers are rushing back to the fields to work and produce, racing against the weather to meet market demand.

Salt is transported to the warehouse and dried. Photo: Nhu Thuy

Mr. Dau Duc Nam - Head of the District Agriculture Department said: Entering this year's production season, the significant increase in salt prices has encouraged salt farmers to enthusiastically produce. Since the beginning of the year, the whole district has harvested nearly 12,000 tons of salt, and in June alone, thanks to the hot weather, productivity increased 5 times, reaching 7,000 tons.

In the coming time, in addition to the provincial and central government's policies to support the improvement of salt production models, the district will have priorities such as tax exemption; support for the construction of salt warehouses and raw material transportation routes so that salt farmers can feel secure in developing production, avoiding the situation of abandoning their fields and going to work far away.

Nhu Thuy