THE number of salt farms has grown in Ayeyawady Region this year and farmers have enjoyed making more income with better price, a salt farmer from the region told The Global New Light of Myanmar.
Last year, salt farms covered just more than 18,700 acres in the region, but applications for the farming licence have been filed for about 19,320 acres this year, he said, adding that the operations of the salt farms have been started since October.
“The coarse salt price has been high now so it mainly encourages people to do the salt manufacturing. This year, there are applications for the farming licence for about 19,320 acres, relatively larger than last year,” he said.
The first salt production was available in January this year and the price of coarse salt was around K700 a viss. At present, the price per viss of coarse salt is K625 and refined salt is K1,200, higher than the same period last year.
“In January and February last year, the coarse salt price was around K160 a viss so there is a big gap to compare with this year’s price. Even now, when the production has increased, it has still received more than K600 a viss, mainly driven by low supply of the remaining stock of the last year’s production,” he added.
While the current prices have helped farmers make profits, farmers have had to pay higher daily wage due to the labour shortages. — MT/ZS
