The nation's salt industry will be restructured to add more value toits products and ensure sustainable development, the AgricultureMinistry has announced.
Under a five-year restructuring (until2020) action plan for the industry presented by the ministry at aconference held in Hanoi on June 23, production area would be expandedto 14,500ha with an annual productivity of 2 million tonnes.
Infrastructureupgrades including more efficient irrigation systems and application ofadvanced technology in production are also mentioned in the plan aspart of efforts to increase the added value of salt products by at least20 percent.
The plan seeks to set up a model for cooperationbetween farmers and enterprises in the production and consumption ofpurified salt.
Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam said that towardsensuring successful implementation of the action plan, the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has asked its Department forAgro-forestry, Fisheries and Salt Production (DAFSP) to set up a saltproduction association.
He said this association would serve as abridge between salt enterprises and State management authorities insecuring rights and benefits for both farmers and businesses.
Theministry has urged salt producing localities to review their growth andprepare restructuring plans that are in line with the national masterplan for the industry.
Conference participants noted thatVietnam's salt production was mostly manual and heavily dependent onweather conditions, affecting product volume and quality. The industryis also finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the domesticmarket against imported salt, they said.
An Van Khanh, DAFSPDeputy Director, said current challenges facing the industry included ahigh rate of unemployment among salt workers, low capacity, and lowconsumption.
He said the signing of several Free Trade Agreements would directly impact salt production and consumption in the country.
Vietnamhas a total of 21 coastal provinces engaged in salt farming, from HaiPhong city in the North to Ca Mau province in the South.
Theindustry employs 78,600 people and has an annual labour productivity of15 tonnes per person. It has produced an average of 900,000 tonnes ofsalt per year over the last five years.
However, imported salt,mostly from Pakistan and India, has dominated the domestic market,resulting in a surplus of Vietnamese salt.
Vietnam produced 1.3million tonnes last year alone, about 250,000 tonnes of which wereunsold. Yet, it also imported more than 350,000 tonnes of salt the sameyear.
So far this year, the stock of unsold salt has risen to600,000 tonnes, four times the figure recorded during the same periodlast year, the conference heard.-VNA
Under a five-year restructuring (until2020) action plan for the industry presented by the ministry at aconference held in Hanoi on June 23, production area would be expandedto 14,500ha with an annual productivity of 2 million tonnes.
Infrastructureupgrades including more efficient irrigation systems and application ofadvanced technology in production are also mentioned in the plan aspart of efforts to increase the added value of salt products by at least20 percent.
The plan seeks to set up a model for cooperationbetween farmers and enterprises in the production and consumption ofpurified salt.
Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam said that towardsensuring successful implementation of the action plan, the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has asked its Department forAgro-forestry, Fisheries and Salt Production (DAFSP) to set up a saltproduction association.
He said this association would serve as abridge between salt enterprises and State management authorities insecuring rights and benefits for both farmers and businesses.
Theministry has urged salt producing localities to review their growth andprepare restructuring plans that are in line with the national masterplan for the industry.
Conference participants noted thatVietnam's salt production was mostly manual and heavily dependent onweather conditions, affecting product volume and quality. The industryis also finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the domesticmarket against imported salt, they said.
An Van Khanh, DAFSPDeputy Director, said current challenges facing the industry included ahigh rate of unemployment among salt workers, low capacity, and lowconsumption.
He said the signing of several Free Trade Agreements would directly impact salt production and consumption in the country.
Vietnamhas a total of 21 coastal provinces engaged in salt farming, from HaiPhong city in the North to Ca Mau province in the South.
Theindustry employs 78,600 people and has an annual labour productivity of15 tonnes per person. It has produced an average of 900,000 tonnes ofsalt per year over the last five years.
However, imported salt,mostly from Pakistan and India, has dominated the domestic market,resulting in a surplus of Vietnamese salt.
Vietnam produced 1.3million tonnes last year alone, about 250,000 tonnes of which wereunsold. Yet, it also imported more than 350,000 tonnes of salt the sameyear.
So far this year, the stock of unsold salt has risen to600,000 tonnes, four times the figure recorded during the same periodlast year, the conference heard.-VNA
