Vietnam Salt Festival

On the evening of March 6, 2025, at Hung Vuong Square, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment coordinated with the People's Committee of Bac Lieu province to organize the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Salt Festival.

Creating momentum for the salt industry to "take off"

The Vietnam - Bac Lieu Salt Festival 2025 has the theme "100-year journey of salt making - Human life". The event aims to preserve, honor and enhance the value of Vietnam's traditional salt making profession, while affirming Bac Lieu's position as the "salt capital" of the country.

Mr. Pham Van Thieu, Chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee delivered the opening speech of the Vietnam - Bac Lieu Salt Festival 2025. Photo: Bac Lieu Newspaper

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Pham Van Thieu, Chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that this is the first festival in the country dedicated to the salt industry. The salt industry in Bac Lieu has a long history, formed in the early 20th century when people reclaimed land along the coast.

With favorable natural conditions, sunny climate, strong winds and sophisticated manual production techniques, Bac Lieu salt farmers have created pure white salt grains with a distinctive flavor. Bac Lieu salt is not only famous throughout the six provinces of the South but is also exported to some neighboring countries.

Salt making not only brings income but is also a cultural feature, reflecting the identity of local people. In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized salt making in Bac Lieu as a "National Intangible Cultural Heritage".

This is an important driving force to preserve and promote the value of this heritage, while helping to improve the lives of salt farmers and promote the sustainable development of the Vietnamese salt industry.

At the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha highly appreciated the initiative of organizing the Salt Festival by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the People's Committee of Bac Lieu province. The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that salt is not only an essential product in daily life but also an important cultural heritage, playing a major role in the economy, food industry, health care and many other fields.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha proposed that ministries and branches support the development of the salt industry. Photo: Bac Lieu Newspaper

Vietnam has natural advantages with more than 3,200 km of coastline and favorable climatic conditions for the development of the salt production and processing industry. Currently, the country has 19 provinces and cities producing salt, with a total area of ​​about 11,400 hectares and an average output of 1 million tons/year. Some localities have built brands and geographical indications for salt products, helping Vietnamese salt access demanding markets such as the US, Japan, and South Korea.

Despite its great potential, the Vietnamese salt industry is still facing many challenges. Every year, Vietnam still has to import 400,000 - 600,000 tons of salt because domestic supply cannot meet demand, especially high-quality salt used in the food and medical industries.

Meanwhile, most of the salt industry workers have not been properly trained, while the production and processing infrastructure is still backward. Salt production in Vietnam is mainly small-scale and fragmented, without much application of modern technology, leading to low added value and low competitiveness. Salt farmers' income is also unstable due to the loose linkage between production, processing and consumption.

Faced with this reality, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that ministries and sectors, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and coastal localities, pay more attention to supporting the development of the salt production industry. Solutions should focus on upgrading infrastructure, applying science and technology to production and processing, training human resources, building sustainable value chains and expanding consumer markets.

Trade opportunities, market connection

Within the framework of the Festival, on the evening of March 6, the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) in coordination with the People's Committee of Bac Lieu province held the opening ceremony of the Trade Promotion Fair for the Collective Economic Sector and Cooperatives - Bac Lieu 2025.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Huynh Chi Nguyen - Vice Chairman of Bac Lieu Provincial People's Committee emphasized: "The fair is an opportunity for cooperatives, cooperative unions and enterprises to link with the collective economic sector nationwide, especially OCOP products, local specialties and salt-processed products. Through the fair, we hope to introduce the unique, generous and affectionate cultural features of Bac Lieu people to visitors and friends inside and outside the province."

Delegates cut the ribbon to open the Trade Promotion Fair. Photo: Trong Nghia

The fair gathered hundreds of booths of cooperatives and businesses, introducing salt products, OCOP products, salt products combined with tourism, modern salt processing equipment and technology.

Ms. Cao Xuan Thu Van - President of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance also shared: “The fair is one of the activities responding to the Month of Action for Cooperatives and the International Year of Cooperatives 2025, and is also an important highlight in the series of events of the Vietnam Salt Festival - Bac Lieu 2025. With the participation of more than 150 cooperatives and 20 enterprises from 35 provinces and cities, the fair brings thousands of typical products, demonstrating the diversity and richness of the collective economic sector.”

Giant salt mountain at Hung Vuong Square. Photo: Bac Lieu Newspaper

This fair also creates opportunities for cooperatives to participate in the production and consumption value chain. Through trade activities, seminars and discussions, cooperatives can learn from experience, apply science and technology to production and expand their business models in a modern and sustainable direction.

In particular, salt products such as refined salt, salt combined with experiential tourism and OCOP products will be displayed at the fair. This is an important direction to help increase the added value of the salt industry, while affirming the position of Vietnamese salt grains in the domestic and international markets.

In addition, the fair also promotes local tourism development by combining the introduction of salt products with tours and experiences in salt-making areas. Developing a tourism model associated with salt production not only helps diversify products but also increases income for salt farmers, creating sustainable development for the Vietnamese salt industry. High-quality salt products, produced according to clean and sustainable processes, will help enhance the Vietnamese salt brand in the international market, thereby opening up export opportunities in the future.

The Vietnam - Bac Lieu Salt Festival 2025 takes place from March 6 to 8 with many diverse activities, including an exhibition of traditional and industrial salt products, demonstration of the manual salt making process, visits to traditional salt fields and a scientific seminar on solutions for sustainable salt industry development.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/festival-nghe-muoi-viet-nam-bac-lieu-2025-hanh-trinh-moi-cho-nghe-muoi-377139.html