Salt prices in Nghe An reach record highs.

(Baonghean.vn) - Thanks to investments in improving the salt filtration system and production on a crystallization pond, the salt quality is good, attracting large markets and causing salt prices to reach a record high of 2,500 VND/kg.It's almost one and a half times higher than last year.

That's the assertion made by salt farmers in Quynh Luu on the morning of September 11th, given the current high price of salt.

According to salt trader Nguyen Cong Luong, the high price of salt is partly due to salt farmers abandoning their fields to work elsewhere, leading to a decrease in salt production. However, most importantly, some major markets such as the US, Japan, and South Korea have recently been purchasing and evaluating the salt as meeting quality standards.

Salt demand is high, forcing salt porters to work at full capacity. (Photo by Nhu Thuy)

Most of the salt from salt farmers in Nghe An that is imported only undergoes cleaning of debris, grinding, iodizing, and packaging; no other processing is needed. From July 2017 to the present, salt processing companies in Hanoi have come to Quynh Luu to sign contracts to purchase salt, and the current selling price at the warehouse has risen to 2,300 - 2,500 VND/kg.

"Currently, our team of traders has 10 large trucks that have to wait all day at the salt fields to collect goods, yet sometimes there's no salt to buy because most of the salt reserves have been bought up several weeks ago," said Mr. Nguyen Cong Luong.

Thanks to the sharp increase in salt prices, salt farmers in Quynh Luu are working tirelessly in the salt fields, racing against the heat to produce enough salt to sell to traders by the end of the day.

Salt is being urgently loaded onto trucks for sale. Photo: Nhu Thuy

The family of Mr. Ho Sy Lieu in Duc Long village, Quynh Thuan commune, has a 200 m2 salt production area. With two workers working 6 hours a day, they harvest about 200-300 kg of salt. At the current selling price of 2,500 VND/kg, he earns 400,000-600,000 VND per day, double the amount earned in previous years. The salt is dried at the end of the day and sold immediately to traders, giving his family more motivation to produce when the weather is favorable.

"For salt farmers, the increase in salt prices is a cause for celebration. The hot weather helps the salt dry quickly, and at the end of the day, traders buy it right away, so we salt farmers forget about the hard work," shared Mr. Ho Sy Lieu.

Quynh Luu is considered a major salt producing area in Nghe An province, with over 600 hectares of production and an annual salt output of approximately 60,000 tons. In previous years, many salt farmers were discouraged by low prices and unfavorable weather conditions, but this year most are delighted because the purchase price is increasing daily.

Mr. Ho Sy Lieu in Duc Long village, Quynh Thuan commune (Quynh Luu district) happily harvests salt. Photo: Nhu Thuy

With this positive sign, coastal communes in Quynh Luu district with a tradition of salt production, such as Quynh Yen, Quynh Minh, Quynh Nghia, An Hoa, Quynh Thuan, and Quynh Tho, are now calling on people to return to their hometowns to continue salt production. They are also encouraging salt farmers, when profitable, to reinvest the capital to replace the old filtration ponds on the crystallization ponds to produce clean salt that meets the input standards of large companies.

Nhu Thuy