The price of raw salt has reached a record high of 1,000 kyats per viss, but farmers do not have any salt, according to the salt farmers in Thanbyuzayat.
The price of sun-dried salt in Mon State used to be as high as 380 to 400 kyats per viss, but after the Thingyan festival in April this year, the price of sun-dried salt has reached 500 kyats per viss, said a salt farmer from Panga Village.
He continued, “I have never seen a viss of raw salt cost 1,000 kyats in my life. But no salt farmer has any salt left.”
The salt fields had to be closed before the end of the salt season due to heavy rains since early April, and the farmer said that the salt production has not been possible due to the current rains in the first week of October.
"Usually, the raw salt that is obtained after the Thingyan period is stored to be sold before the new salt-drying season. However, since the rains began in early April, there is no raw salt available. The price is so high now that salt farmers do not have salt. The price of salt has also increased due to the lack of salt. During the salt production period, the price of salt does not exceed 300 kyats per viss," said the salt farmer.
If the weather is good, they start making salt fields before the Thadingyut period and start salt-drying production, but this year, the rains have not stopped, so the sun-dried salt production has not been able to start.
“We usually prepare salt fields around the month of Tawthalin because the weather is normal. However, the rains are heavy in both Tawthalin and Thadingyut, so the repaired salt fields have been damaged and we have had to repair them twice,” said a salt farmer from Thanbyuzayat.
The farmer said that even before the start of this year’s sun-dried salt drying season, salt farmers are already facing losses.
In addition to Panga Village in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State, sun-dried salt business are also carried out in Kyaikkhami, Setse and We Ka Laung Village. In addition, there are sun-dried salt business in Ye and Paung townships.
