Philippine scrambles to ramp up domestic salt production

Amid the economic problems caused by the pandemic, the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has been working double time to boost economic production to repair the damage caused by the previous government’s dependence on imports, particularly in agriculture. 

But Marcos, who is concurrently the country’s agriculture secretary, has been struggling to cope with a situation where the Philippines, which has the world’s fifth longest coastline of more than 32,000 kilometers, has to import fish and even table salt.

“I am astounded,” Marcos said in a news briefing shortly after assuming office in June. “I really cannot accept the situation where we have to import galunggong (round scad).”

The situation arose from the policy of the previous administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte to cut import tariffs on agricultural produce which spurred an importation spree that devastated local industries. 

The policy was initially meant to curb price increases in rice and pork, which were affected by bad weather and swine fever. After the Duterte administration failed to address the problems, the former president issued orders cutting tariffs on farm produce. 

The importation fever later spread to industries that were barely making ends meet and unscrupulous local officials and traders simulated market shortages, particularly in fish, chicken, and sugar, that were addressed by even more imports. 

Faced with cheaper imports and more expensive farm inputs, many demoralized local producers went bankrupt and just stopped production. Even the many salt flats that could be found all over the country simply disappeared. But Malacañang, the presidential palace, said the Marcos administration was already undertaking a plan to revive the salt industry via subsidies. 

First, Marcos picked Domingo Panganiban, who had served two earlier administrations as agriculture secretary, as his senior undersecretary at the agriculture department. Panganiban, who is expected to be named agriculture secretary later, admitted that the Philippines cannot even produce salt for its own needs due to the negligence of the government over the past 15 years. 

The Department of Agriculture (DA) also readied subsidies for salt producers, amounting to some PHP100 million (about US$1.7 million) for distribution within the year, said Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles. 

For the year 2022, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has allocated PHP100 million worth of funds to boost salt production in the country.  Angeles said the DA has projected that the salt supply in the country will take two to three years to stabilize.  

The agency’s strategies are mainly focused on providing support for workers in the salt industry and ensuring the sustainability of production through technological upgrades and the use of suitable areas for expansion. 

According to Angeles, the DA will lead the efforts to modernize the country’s salt production together with other state agencies. In the plan: 

• The DA will implement programs and initiatives for boosting production and supply. 

• BFAR will lead various research and development initiatives on salt production and assist marginal and artisanal salt makers. 

• Realization of the Development of the Salt Industry Project (DSIP) for salt makers in three top producing regions. 

• The DA will expand salt production areas and push for the development of technologies to accelerate salt production. 

• The DA will work with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to fully develop the local salt industry through an old law that the Duterte administration ignored.  

Salt farm in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. Photo credit: Department of Science and Technology

PH imports 93 percent of salt requirements 

In 1990, the Philippines’ salt production was a flourishing industry, particularly in the provinces of Bulacan, Pangasinan, Occidental Mindoro, Cavite, and Las Piñas City in Metro Manila, which could meet almost 85 percent of its salt needs annually.

But Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food president Danilo Fausto said the country now imports 93 percent of its salt requirements of 550,000 metric tons every year from Australia and China. 

Panganiban admitted that the Philippines cannot even produce salt for its own needs due to the negligence of the government over the past 15 years. 

Moving only now 

Amid reports of salt shortage, the trade department assured the public that the country has a sufficient salt supply of salt, imported though they may be.  

“The DTI is required to provide the machines to incorporate iodine in the salt being produced, but it failed to comply resulting in the death of the salt industry. Now we are importing 93 percent of our salt requirements,” Fausto said. 

But the BFAR said the figure has yet to be verified by the government. 

“First of all, the 93 percent shared by the private sector is a figure that still needs to be verified by the government… because salt production is not included in the data being covered by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA),” BFAR chief information officer Nazzer Briguera told Maritime Fairtrade. 

Briguera said the BFAR is set to implement a project specifically to revitalize the salt industry and lead research and development as well as technical assistance to marginal and artisanal salt makers. 

“Based on the initial profiling and assessment of existing salt producers and salt processors conducted prior to the implementation of the project, there are 29 groups and 327 individuals engaged in salt production in (the three top producing regions),” Briguera said. 

Archipelagic nation short of salt?  

Briguera said several factors contributed to the decline in the production of salt. They are:  

• low-quality control and stunted product improvement for many years; 

• limited development including the lack of innovation and interventions; 

• low enterprise and investment opportunities that resulted in the decrease in the production; 

• failure to adapt to the challenges caused by global climate change, food safety standards and quality requirements, tariff reduction, and meeting the mandatory iodization imposed by Republic Act 8172, or the ASIN law. 

Under the ASIN law, DENR, along with other appropriate government agencies will identify areas that are suitable for use as salt farms to protect such areas from environmental risks to ensure the sustainability of iodized salt production. 

The law also mandates DTI to assist and support local salt makers in upgrading their production technologies to include iodization by helping them obtain soft loans and financial assistance for machines and other equipment. 

Photo credit: Pexels/ Andrew Jones. Stock photo of a salt farm.

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