Salt fields in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State, have been damaged by untimely rain, according to salt farmers.

In addition to the rainfall in Thanbyuzayat Township this second week of April, there has been a lack of sunlight, said a salt farmer from Karuppi Village, Thanbyuzayat Township.

He continued, “As for the damage, the fields have not been damaged because the rain has not been heavy. However, the salt does not get sunlight, and the salt fields are also wet, and the salt in the fields melts. This will delay the production of salt. Since the salt is not being produced at the moment, the labour costs and fuel costs cannot be reduced, so if the salt is not produced for a week, we have to pay the costs out of our own pockets. This increases the costs.”

The current price of raw salt is around 280 kyats per viss, but salt farmers say that the raw salt market is cold because they have no more salt left.

“In the normal season, this is the time for good salt production. However, the recent rains have completely destroyed the salt fields and salt. There is no sunlight today either. We will have to repair the salt fields if it doesn’t rain,” said a salt farmer from Panga Village, Thanbyuzayat Township.

He continued, “The salt fields and salt have been damaged by the rain, causing a lot of damage. In addition, the salt is not being produced. The cost of labour and fuel consumption cannot be reduced, so the damage has increased.”

In the next two days, rains or thundershowers will be fairly widespread to widespread in Yangon, Sagaing, Ayeyawady, Tanintharyi regions, Kachin, Kayah, Chin and Shan states, according to a statement issued by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH) at 7 am on April 18.