Cox’s Bazar Correspondent:

Salt production has come to a complete halt in the coastal areas of Cox’s Bazar district due to adverse weather and rainfall, barring season’s target achievement of the industry.

The disruption has made it impossible to achieve the production target of the industry this season, insiders said.

Despite the abrupt halt, the country has recorded the second highest volume of salt production in the past 64 years, which is more than 22,51, 000 tonnes.

According to the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), Cox’s Bazar, salt production has started on 69,198 acres of land in Cox’s Bazar Sadar, Teknaf, Ramu, Chakaria, Pekua, Moheshkhali, Eidgaon and Banshkhali upazilas of Chittagong. A target was set to produce 26,10, 000 tonnes of salt, which could not be met as salt production has remained completely stopped since May 18.

Till May 17, around 22,51,651 tonnes of salt was produced, which is 3,58,349 tonnes less than the target.

Since the beginning of the year, farmers had been repeatedly facing obstacles to producing salt due to adverse weather conditions.

Especially at the end of April and in mid-May, salt production had to be completely stopped amid hazardous conditions created by intense rainfall.

Local salt farmers said if it rains once, salt production has to be kept stopped for a week.

If there was no rainfall, farmers could have produced an estimated 20,000 tonnes of salt. Still, there has been a good salt yield this year. Many farmers have become self-sufficient by producing salt. However, farmers will benefit if the price of salt increases further. The coastal salt fields have been flooded with rainwater, which is a big blow to the farmers.

On Sunday (May 25) afternoon, it was seen on the Moheshkhali coast of Cox’s Bazar Sadar that rainwater was accumulating in the fields, and farmers were checking the flow of irrigation water and rainwater.

According to BSCIC, farmers have stored more than 1.4 million tonnes of salt produced. Salt is being sold in the market at Tk270 to 280 per maund, meaning the price per kg has fallen to Tk6.5 to 7.

But the retail price of packaged salt in the market is between Tk 30 and Tk 45. Farmers spend Tk 350 to 400 per maund on salt production. In this situation, farmers are facing heavy financial losses.

Deputy General Manager of BSCIC Cox’s Bazar Salt Industry Development Project Md Zafar Iqbal said despite the shortage in the current season, there is no need for import.

At the field level, farmers now have 1.4 million tonnes of unsold salt, which can meet the country’s demand for 7 to 8 months. Salt production will resume from next November or December.

About 41,355 marginal farmers and several lakh people, including 100,000 workers, are directly or indirectly involved in salt production, transportation and business in the district. The cost of salt production and irregular selling prices have a major impact on their livelihood.

BSCIC field inspector Md Idris Ali said that due to the low price, many farmers have stored salt in pits.

According to preliminary information, about 1.4 million tonnes of salt are stored in the field. At the field level, salt is now being sold at Tk 270 to 280, but the price is likely to increase.

He also said that although the weather was good in April, production was somewhat lower due to drought.

Later, due to intermittent rains, there was a shortage in salt production. Many farmers did not achieve the desired production target due to late entry into the field or early exit.