Government to boost salt industry

THE national government has vowed to boost the local salt industry and to enable the sector to be self-sufficient, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said on Monday, August 29, 2022.

In a statement, the OPS said the Department of Agriculture, under the helm of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., will spearhead initiatives to robust salt production and supply the requirements of both commercial and industry users.

The DA will work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to lead various research and development activities and provide technical assistance to marginal and artisanal salt makers.

In 2021, the BFAR launched a P100 million Development of the Salt Industry Project under the Special Budget Request of the Congressional-Introduced Initiative Project covering Regions 1 (Ilocos), 6 (Western Visayas) and 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula).

Aside from increasing production, the project also aims to produce excellent quality of salt through enhancement and improvement of the different methods and practices on salt production, and product compliance to food safety standards.

The DA is also eyeing to expand production areas, as well as the development of technologies, including evaporation systems and the use of various machineries to accelerate the production of salt.

The agency will also collaborate with national agencies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to identify other areas suitable for use as salt farms with the purpose of protecting such areas from environmental risks to ensure sustainability of iodized salt production.

The OPS said the country has been importing 93 percent of its salt supply, “an unfortunate circumstance to a country with 36,000 kilometers of shoreline.” The low production of salt in the country was attributed to low quality control and stunted product improvement for many years.