Heatwave comes as a blessing for salt farmers

While the heatwave that has swept over Bangladesh since the start of April has been piling on the misery for millions, these same hot days have come as a boon for salt farmers across the nation.

Harnessing the power of the scorching sun, crude salt farmers have broken the previous record of salt production.

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According to the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), the record salt production over the past 62 years came in fiscal year 2022-23, when 2,232,890 tonnes of salt was produced.

However, until April 28 of this fiscal year, salt production has surpassed all previous milestones, reaching 2,234,658 metric tonnes.

Md Zafor Iqbal Bhuian, deputy general manager of Salt Industry's Development Office in Cox's Bazar, said that the production time had been reduced to a fraction due to the intense heat.

"Due to dry weather and intense heat, salt production is going on in full swing. In previous years, salt matured in eight to nine days. But now farmers can harvest salt in around 24 hours due to the intense heat," he said.

"As there is so much heat, salt is converted into hard grains overnight after the seawater accumulates in the field in the morning," he added.

Cox's Bazar is the main hub of salt production in the country and Bhuian estimated 38,000 metric tonnes of salt are being produced each day.

"Farmers are producing more than 30,000 tons of salt every day. If this trend continues, there will be surplus supply in Bangladesh," he said.

The record production of salt has also led to a decline in price.

Currently, the average price of crude salt at the salt field level is Tk 312 per maund (1 maund equals 37 kilogrammes), down sharply from Tk 420 per maund last year.

However, Bhuian warned that salt traders could not make as much profit as they were a few months ago when the price per maund was around Tk 500.

He also expected production costs to increase slightly, saying: "Last year, the production cost per maund was around Tk 270. The cost could increase slightly this season."

Syed Alam, a salt farmer from the Chawfaldandi village in Cox's Bazar sadar upazila, said although the current market price of salt has dropped by around Tk 100, he is still making a good profit as salt production time has decreased.

The pre-production phase is still ongoing and will continue till mid-May, said farmers and officials of the Salt Industry's Development Office at the BSCIC in Cox's Bazar.

In the current season, total land under salt cultivation stood at 68,357 acres compared to 66,424 acres last season, an increase of 1,933 acres.

The number of salt farmers has also increased this season, climbing from 39,467 last year to 40,695 at present, according to the BSCIC.