Philippines to import salt - DA

The Philippines is set to import salt amid the issue of a lack of supply and local production in the country.

Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said that although the Philippines actually imports salt, the need for salt supply has increased now because the previous administration did not focus on the development of salt production in the country.

“Ang asin talagang nag-iimport tayo diyan. We have P100 million to start for this season. And we hope and anticipate that we should be able to do something about it,” said Panganiban.

Earlier, Panganiban said that the industry’s negligence caused the lack of salt in the country in the past year, including the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

“For the last two to three years, wala akong nakitang activity na ginagawa ng BFAR kundi kumuha ng pera at pabayaan (For the last two to three years, I have not seen any activity done by BFAR but take money and leave it alone),” said Panganiban.

In fact, he said, BFAR still hasn’t been able to use the P100 million budget of the government in 2021 to strengthen salt production.

Philippines to import salt – DA

Malacañang promised that there are plans to boost salt production in the country to fill the great need of the people.

Last month, Agriculture officials said last month that until the fourth quarter of the year, the supply of garlic, onions, and salt produced locally would not be sufficient to meet demand.

The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) and its associated bureaus, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), all recently released projections, are all negative.

The sufficiency level for onions decreased to 0% in July from Central Luzon through Calabarzon, Mimaropa, down to Visayas. This year, officials predict that the shortage will remain until November before improving to 57%-sufficient by December, when they anticipate a domestic harvest of 12,416 metric tons.

Prior to the lean months, which started as early as June, the sufficiency level for onions was high, at best reaching 689% coverage in March.

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