The Phnom Penh Post

Kingdom set to import 50K tonnes of salt amid lacklustre production

US probes France’s planned tech giants tax

- Hin Pisei

CAMBODIA is set to import about 50,000 tonnes of salt to supply domestic demand this year, as its production accounted for only 30 per cent, according to the Salt Producers Community of Kampot-Kep (SPCKK).

This will be the second consecutiv­e year of salt shortages and the third year overall since the Kingdom first imported salt in 2009, from China.

The Kingdom’s total area under salt production is more than 4,500ha, exclusivel­y in Kampot and Kep provinces. This year’s production has yielded a mere 30,000 tonnes, as the local market currently demands between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes per year.

One hectare of salt fields can produce about 20 tonnes of salt annually, according to SPCKK. Salt production season falls between January and May each year.

SPCKK co-president Bun Baraing told The Post on Thursday that the volume of salt imports this year may be higher than last year.

“Importing salt from abroad is unavoidabl­e this year because as of today, salt stocks have been mostly sold out,” said Baraing, adding that imported salt will be properly tested for quality at a laboratory.

The decline in salt output this year has been caused by two major factors – the weather and the subsequent reduction in the number of producers, he said.

He said more rain in salt production areas in Kampot and Kep provinces this year has caused problems for salt producers.

“If there is no rain during the three-month dry season, Cambodia will not have a salt shortage problem,” he said, citing labour shortages as the main reason for the year to year decline in salt producers.

“Salt production requires patient people and working under the sun. Many sa lt producers have turned to find another job instead. This is an ongoing challenge,” he said.

The price of sa lt has remained unchanged from last year at nearly $100 per tonne.

Bet ween 2014 and 2016, Cambodia produced about 100,000 tonnes of sa lt per year. However, production has fa llen for t hree consecutiv­e years since 2017.

Last year, Cambodia planned to import 30,000 tonnes of salt from China but imported just over 10,000 tonnes. In 2009, it purchased 20,000 tonnes of salt from China at $2.2 million.

Cambodia’s sa lt industr y generated about $22 million in revenue in 2017, according to Ministr y of Industr y and Handicraft data.

The ministr y’s undersecre­tar y of state Son Seng Huot and secretar y of state Um Sopha, who oversee the sa lt industr y, declined to comment on the issue. US President Donald Trump has ordered an investigat­ion into France’s planned tax on internet services that will hit US tech giants especially hard, officials said on Wednesday.

The probe into unfair trade practices could pave the way for Washington to impose punitive tariffs – something Trump has done repeatedly since taking office.

And it adds yet another bone of contention in t he transat lantic trade disputes t hat now a lso include trade in steel, a luminium, automobile­s, aircraft and agricultur­e.

“The United States is very concerned that the digital services tax which is expected to pass the French Senate tomorrow unfairly targets American companies,” US Trade Representa­tive Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.

The proposed three per cent tax on total annual revenues of companies providing services to French consumers only applies to the largest tech companies, “where US firms are global leaders”, the trade representa­tive’s office said.

Some internet heavyweigh­ts have taken advantage of low-tax jurisdicti­ons in places like Ireland while paying next to nothing in other countries where they derive huge profits.

The so-called Section 301 investigat­ion is the primary tool the Trump administra­tion has used in the trade war with China to justify tariffs against what the US says are unfair trade practices.

The US Trade Representa­tive’s office will hold hearings to allow for public comment on the issue over several weeks before issuing a final report with a recommenda­tion on any actions to take.

Despite the objections to the French tax proposal, however, the statement said the US will continue to work with other advanced economies to address the conundrum of how to tax tech companies.

The US is pushing for an overarchin­g agreement on taxation through the Group of 20 (G20) economic forum, something supported by Google.

The company said last month the change would probably mean Silicon Valley tech giants would pay less in the US and more in other jurisdicti­ons, in a departure from the longstandi­ng practice of paying most taxes in a company’s home country.

G20 finance ministers last month also said they “welcomed” proposed measures from the Organisati­on for Economic Cooperatio­n and Developmen­t, a forum for advanced economies, to revamp internatio­nal rules on corporate taxation.

“We will redouble our efforts for a consensus-based solution with a final report by 2020,” they said in a statement.

 ?? HIN PISEI ?? Salt fields just west of Kampot train station in Kampot town’s Kraing Ampil commune.
HIN PISEI Salt fields just west of Kampot train station in Kampot town’s Kraing Ampil commune.
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