This time is the peak time for salt harvesting but the atmosphere in many salt evaporation ponds in the province is not very buoyant. Under the sultry heat of May, Mrs. Huynh Thi Nam, a 53-year-old salt farmer in Hamlet 4 in Long Son Commune in Vung Tau City, was shoveling salt to a handcart to transport salt to the shore. Pointing at a huge pile of salt, she said that it is the working result of her and her husband in seven months on 1.2 hectares of rented salt-farming land. After paying the landlord 15 tons of salt, the couple has around 35 tons of coarse salt left. However, the price of salt this year is low, at around VND500 per kilogram, merely half of that in the previous year so salt farmers suffer huge losses.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province admitted that the salt production of this year was more than 47,690 tons, achieving 86.8 percent of the plan. Due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, salt consumption markets of the province, such as Phu Quoc and Ho Chi Minh City, have temporarily halted purchasing, causing a steep decline in the price and high inventory of salt. Therefore, salt farmers are in need of support from the provincial budget to overcome the pandemic.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province admitted that the salt production of this year was more than 47,690 tons, achieving 86.8 percent of the plan. Due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, salt consumption markets of the province, such as Phu Quoc and Ho Chi Minh City, have temporarily halted purchasing, causing a steep decline in the price and high inventory of salt. Therefore, salt farmers are in need of support from the provincial budget to overcome the pandemic.
