The sunnier the place, the happier the farmers are.
For salt farmers in the coastal areas of Nghe An province, the days with temperatures reaching 39-40 degrees Celsius are the happiest days because the salt crystallizes quickly, the grains are beautiful, and it sells for a higher price.
Quynh Thuan commune, Quynh Luu district, is a traditional and long-standing salt-producing area. The entire commune currently has nearly 100 hectares of salt fields with almost 300 households participating in production. In recent days, the hot weather with temperatures ranging from 38 to 40 degrees Celsius has made salt production difficult for the local people. However, the hotter the sun, the better the salt and the higher the yield. Therefore, taking advantage of the hot weather, salt farmers are urgently heading to the fields to produce salt.
Taking a break while waiting for the salt to crystallize, Mr. Dao Van Luyen from Truong Thinh village, Quynh Thuan commune, said that his family has four salt pans. In the morning, they go to the fields to pour water onto the pans and wait for the sun to crystallize the salt. Around 2 PM, he and his wife return to rake the salt and prepare for the next day's production.
“Salt production is highly dependent on the weather, so it usually peaks during the dry season, from April to June. The past few days have been the hottest during this year's salt season, so everyone is excited. Although it's hard work, the salt crystals are white and beautiful, and the yield is high. With 4 salt pans, my wife and I produce about 250kg of salt per day, earning over 350,000 VND.”
Being present in the salt fields during the peak of the scorching heat at the end of June truly reveals the hardships of the salt farmers. They have to endure the intense sun, facing the salty vapor rising from the rising salt. Despite the blazing heat, the salt workers in the coastal communes of Quỳnh Thuận, Quỳnh Nghĩa, An Hòa... still hope for more intense and longer sunshine so that the salt crystallizes faster, producing beautiful, high-quality grains.
“The stronger the sun, the faster the salt crystals form, the salinity is just right, there’s no bitterness, and most importantly, it can be stored for longer. My family has 5 salt pans. Before the season, the sun was mild, so the yield was only about 230-250 kg per day. However, during the recent days of strong sunshine, the yield reached about 300 kg of salt, thus increasing our income,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue from An Hoa commune.
Making salt is a laborious process. First, the ground must be thoroughly prepared to minimize seawater seepage. Next, the sand, which has been soaked in seawater, is dried. When the sand is dry, tiny salt crystals form on each grain. The dried sand is then shoveled into pits and compacted tightly. Seawater is then poured in and allowed to settle, resulting in brine. Finally, the settled brine is poured onto a cement field. After drying for almost a day, the salt crystals form, marking the harvesting time.
According to salt farmers in Quynh Luu district, the current price of salt purchased by traders at the fields is 1,500 VND/kg, lower than at this time last year. "This job is very hard, but most of the people doing it are elderly. Young people now don't follow this profession anymore; they go to work for companies because they can't stand the hardship and the heat," confided Ms. Nguyen Thi Xinh (60 years old) from An Hoa commune.
Quynh Luu is a district with a large salt production area in Nghe An province, with over 600 hectares across 9 communes, comprising 12 cooperatives and 1 factory. According to statistics from the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, since the beginning of the season, salt farmers in Quynh Luu have produced approximately 30,000 tons out of a planned 50,000 tons of salt, generating revenue exceeding 3 billion VND.
According to Mr. Bui Xuan Truc, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Quynh Luu district, in previous years, this area was much larger, but due to the arduous nature of salt production and low income, many people abandoned the profession. Currently, the local government is making efforts to rebuild the agricultural sector, especially salt production, contributing to building the brand and quality of Quynh Luu salt and creating stable, long-term income for the people.
