The hardships of the salt industry: Part II - The miserable fate of salt
For many years, in the salt regions of the province, there has always been a paradox. That is, when the price of salt is low, traders rush to buy all the salt from salt farmers. But if the market is stable and the price of salt is high, people almost have no salt left to sell.
See Lesson I -> Salt... bitter!
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly - Nam Tien hamlet (An Hoa - Quynh Luu) said dejectedly: Her family has 150m2 of salt making land. If in previous years, by this time, they had collected 15-16 tons of salt, this year, despite trying very hard, she could only make nearly 10 tons, while the main season is over, and the winter-spring season is lucky to get a few tons. Currently, the price of salt has increased to 1,100 VND/kg, but to have money for her children to go to school, she sold almost everything from the beginning and middle of the season, when the price was 700 VND, 800 VND and then increased to 900 VND/kg.
An Hoa salt farmers are working hard to produce salt.
Low salt prices have been a common situation for many years. In the memories of salt workers, there have been very few years when salt prices increased as dramatically as in 2008, averaging 1,300 - 1,400 VND/kg. The rest, even in times of "price storms", salt farmers still reluctantly accepted to buy at high prices, while the price of their products remained stagnant.
On the salt field at peak hours in Dien Ky (Dien Chau), quickly wiping the sweat from her haggard face, Mrs. Tran Thi Lan (Hamlet 6, Dong Ky) sadly said: "Although I have been attached to the salt making profession for generations, but now, even though my children have all left to work for hire, leaving me alone, my life cannot depend solely on salt. Like last year, a pound of salt was only 11-12 thousand VND, but it could still buy a kilo of rice, but this year, because the price of salt has not increased, one and a half pounds of salt can only buy a kilo of rice. Everything has increased in price, except for salt, but without work, I don't know how to do anything else." In the hot sun of the sea, the dark faces of the salt workers could not hide their sadness.
Mr. Vu Hong Tuyen - Deputy Head of Van Nam Salt Cooperative - Dien Van Commune (Dien Chau), said: Usually at the beginning of the salt season, the iodized salt production enterprise located in Dien Ky organizes a meeting with salt cooperatives to set a floor purchase price, but this price is often not commensurate with the market price. For example, in 2010, the factory set a price of 700 VND/kg, while the lowest price in the market at that time was 900 VND/kg.
Therefore, most people sell to private traders or take it to consume in mountainous districts and neighboring provinces such as Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa. From the past to the present, like many other agricultural products, there has never been a stable price for salt. Even the salty salt grains, bearing the hardships of salt farmers who "sell their faces to salt, sell their backs to the sky", do not follow the "rule": good harvest, low price, good price, bad harvest. Like this year, although salt output has decreased, at the beginning of the season, the price of salt was only 900 VND, then increased to 1,000 VND, then decreased to 800-900 VND/kg. Mr. Tuyen said that the price has now increased to 1,300 VND/kg, but the main season is over, people can only "salvage" salt from the winter-spring crop, rainy and sunny days, the amount of salt in the people's hands is almost gone.
The low price of salt and almost no increase while the price of all other essential consumer goods skyrocketed is pushing the lives of salt workers into dire straits. The Party Secretary of An Hoa commune - a locality with the most beautiful and largest salt fields in Quynh Luu district, said: Like many other salt regions, the price of salt here at the beginning of the season was only about 700 - 800 VND/kg, but now it has increased to 1,100 - 1,200 VND/kg, so production is no longer possible, people almost have to sell salt when the price is still low to have money to cover the needs of life. Salt is rarely unsold, but in addition to the low price of salt, consumption is also very unstable at times. Like this year, the salt crop failed so it was easy to sell, but in many years, there was a lot of sun and a lot of salt, people had to gradually sell the remaining salt to traders at a cheap price.
Discussing the issue of salt consumption for Nghe An salt farmers, Mr. Ho Le Duc - Director of Nghe An Salt Company, said: The unit mainly purchases salt from Quynh Luu, in addition to buying from Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) and Ha Tinh. However, the amount of salt purchased from other provinces accounts for less than 10%. According to the assessment, Nghe An salt has the same salinity as salt from the northern provinces, but its whiteness is much cleaner. Mr. Duc said that currently with high bank interest rates (22%/year), many businesses are hesitant and cautious in buying and selling salt, and even with low salt output like this year, the Company can ensure to buy all the salt in stock from the people, but can only arrange to pay salt farmers after 1-2 weeks, and cannot raise the price higher than the market price nationwide.
Phu Huong - Van Truong
