Unseasonal rain hikes salt prices

Following the unseasonal rain, the price of salt hit a peak of K300 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes) at the depot in Mawlamyine, Mon State.
From 23 March, the price of salt has risen above K300 per viss. The prices of raw salt stood at K314-K320 per viss, while the refined salt was at K340 per viss.
The unseasonal rain recently affected by the storm ruined the salt farms in Mon State, resulting in the price rise, said the salt farmers.
Last December 2021 and February 2022, unseasonal rain damaged salt farms.
The price is expected to remain high due to the decrease in raw salt production, high production cost and demand from the salt mills, salt farmers said. In January this year, salt fetched only K80-K100 per viss.
The price increased by K60-K80 per viss in winter 2021 compared to the same corresponding period last year.
The erratic weather wreaked havoc on salt farms and harmed production last year.
Nevertheless, the corn traders face low inventory despite the high price in the late production season.
Additionally, the fuel oil price is exorbitantly high amid the political changes, causing the transportation cost to rise significantly.
Mon State, the second-largest producer in Myanmar, yearly produces 40,000 tonnes of sun-dried salt, beyond magnesium chloride (MgCl2), iodized salt (I2) and table salt (NaCl).
The 2019-2020 statistics of Mon State salt production businesses showed 14 iodine salt processing plants and one factory each for magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and table salt (NaCl) production. Their production capacity is 60 tonnes of magnesium chloride, 204 tonnes of table salt, and 12,132 tonnes of iodized salt. — NN/GNLM