The government wants to cut Bangladesh's reliance on salt imports by raising domestic production. A meeting of the committee on salt demand assessment, production policy implementation and monitoring discussed encouraging farmers, ensuring fair prices and wider use of modern technology, Dinajpur TV's agriculture desk reports, and recommended a minimum field-level wholesale price of 425 taka a maund for crude salt.
Demand for crude salt in 2026-27 is put at 2.534 million tonnes, against production of 1,954,926 tonnes in 2025-26. Stocks of crude salt stood at 482,000 tonnes on 17 October, 320,000 tonnes in the fields and 162,000 tonnes at mills. Policymakers want the new season, which starts in November, to focus on higher output and fair prices for farmers.
Producing a kilogram of salt in the field costs 8.55 taka on average, or 342 taka a maund. Up to 17 October, a maund sold for an average of 344 taka in the field, leaving farmers almost nothing after costs, and transport from field to mill adds more.
The Salt Farmers' Welfare Association proposed a field price of 425 taka a maund for raw salt, and the minimum wholesale recommendation is based on that. The cost and market price of iodised edible salt will also be reviewed: the national salt committee formed under the iodised salt law will examine production costs and decide whether the retail price needs resetting.
The meeting said new measures will be carried out on the basis of views from mill owners, farmer representatives and others in the sector, and plans were made covering production, demand, stocks, prices and preparation for the coming season.
Photo: Mahbub Hossain Shaheed (mahosha) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Dinajpur TV
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