About 15,000 tonnes of natural salt imported from India are now in stock to meet local demand, after adverse weather conditions dragged down domestic salt production this year to under 40,000 tonnes, roughly 30,000-60,000 tonnes fewer than estimates for annual nationwide consumption, according to industry insiders.

By comparison, salt production reached around 75,000 tonnes in 2021, according to the General Department of Small and Medium Enterprises and Handicrafts (GD-SMEH) under the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation.

The coastal provinces of Kampot and Kep are Cambodia’s primary salt producers, and the harvest season typically lasts from late December to mid-May, or even until June with hotter and drier conditions.

The ministry reported that the total area under salt production in Kampot and Kep provinces was 4,748ha in 2021 and had not significantly changed in 2022, with each hectare yielding an average of 20 tonnes each year under good weather conditions.

Top salt industry player Bun Baraing confirmed to The Post on October 20 that the initial batch of Indian salt weighing “more than 4,000 tonnes” arrived at Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (PPAP) on August 2, and that the 15,000 tonnes imported to date – exclusively by his business – have been moved into warehouses.

This represents roughly one-quarter of the 60,000-tonne annual salt import limit that the government recently authorised for the private sector, prompted by the sharp decline in output, which Baraing pinned on the high levels of rainfall seen in the beginning of the year.

“Imports are ongoing, but once domestic production picks up, we’ll stop importing immediately,” he affirmed. “We guarantee that we’ll import enough salt to meet demand, but we also guarantee that it won’t undermine domestic production.”

The Kampot-based salt producer stressed that the imported product is natural and goes through a quality inspection by ministry experts before it is moved into warehouses, and hence meets the relevant standards.

Baraing shared that the Indian salt is currently sold on the local market at 27,000-28,000 riel ($6.75-7) per 50kg sack, which he said is similar to prices for domestically-produced equivalent.https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/salt-imports-hit-15k-tonnes-stocks-dwindle-after-low-yields