Salt farmers in Khánh Hòa Province’s Vĩnh Hải Commune harvest under favourable sunny and windy weather conditions. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành

KHÁNH HÒA — Salt farmers in Khánh Hòa Province are enjoying a bumper harvest early in the year, with favourable weather and high prices bring big profits after months of disruption by the weather.

At salt fields in places such as Tri Hải, Phương Cựu, Đầm Vua, and Cà Ná in the province’s southern, farmers and companies have kicked off the peak harvest season.

Currently salt produced on bare earth is bought by traders at VNĐ1.1–1.3 million (US$43–50) per tonne, while cleaner varieties, crystallised on plastic-lined beds, fetch VNĐ1.5 million ($58).

At these rates, farmers earn healthy profits, giving them the motivation to persist with the traditional occupation.

Trần Văn Tiến, who has a 6,000sq.m salt field in Vĩnh Hải Commune, said he harvests around 10 tonnes a week and sells it at an average of VNĐ1.2 million ($47) per tonne.

“Late last year prolonged rains and flooding meant people could not produce salt.

“Since the start of this year the weather has been more favourable, with long sunny periods allowing salt to crystallise quickly into large, white, dry grains.

Prices have been stable at the beginning of the year, so everyone is very pleased.”

The Phương Hải Salt Production and Trading Co-operative in Ninh Hải Commune has 60 members with 40ha of land and who produce around 3,000 tonnes of salt a month.

Phạm Thị Giao Thanh, its deputy director, said: “To improve salt quality and output, members consistently adopt new production techniques, and plan and rotate harvesting right from the start of the season to maintain steady supply and meet market demand.”

The co-operative’s coarse salt has been recognised as a three-star product under the national “One Commune – One Product” programme.

It has also diversified its products, including processed table salt and herbal salt, to increase value.

These have received positive feedback from the market, Thanh said.

Abundant sunshine and strong winds in Khánh Hòa Province make salt grains produced there become whiter, larger and drier. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành

To further enhance value, many salt farmers in the province’s coastal areas are adopting new production models and expanding the use of plastic-lined beds.

The beds cost around VNĐ100 million ($3,900) per 1,000sq.m, depending on material quality.

While the cost is high, it enables the production of high-quality refined salt that fetches higher prices and has steady demand.

The province has 1,448ha of manual salt fields and 3,055ha of industrial-scale production, according to its Department of Agriculture and Environment.

Total production last year was 408,129 tonnes.

The province is investing in infrastructure for industrial-scale salt fields to meet demand from the chemical industry and high-quality salt processors.

It is also upgrading infrastructure for manual production, reinforcing irrigation systems and helping farmers access capital to shift to plastic-lined production.

It aims to expand the linkages in salt production through co-operative groups, helping raise the value of salt and incomes for producers.

It is providing training, subsidising investment in processing equipment and promoting product diversification, assisting small and medium-sized producers with quality analysis, packaging improvement and brand protection.

The preservation and development of traditional salt-making villages linked with tourism, including visits and hands-on experiences at salt fields, are also being encouraged. — VNS