The salt making industry in Bac Lieu province has been formed and developed for hundreds of years. This is one of the localities with the largest salt production in the country, mainly concentrated in Hoa Binh and Dong Hai districts.

Statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Bac Lieu province show that in the 2023 crop year, the province's salt output will reach over 27,000 tons, of which more than 7,300 tons will be white salt spread on canvas, the rest will be traditionally produced salt.

The average yield is nearly 17 tons/ha (for traditional salt production) and over 37 tons/ha (for tarpaulin salt). The total number of salt-producing households in 2023 in the province is 767 households, with 1,520 workers.

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Salt fields in Dong Hai district.
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The process of making salt is hard and exhausts the salt workers.

To produce a batch of finished salt, many steps must be taken. Tilling the soil, measuring salinity, and drawing water into the fields are some of the most important steps to have a bountiful harvest.

Although many stages in the salt production process have been mechanized to improve the quality and output of salt, in some places, salt farmers still respect traditional manual production techniques.

While scooping water to cover the fields, Giang Van Ut (living in Dien Hai commune, Dong Hai district) shared that the local salt making industry usually lasts from November of the previous year to March (Lunar calendar) of the following year, when the temperature is high.

“This year there is a lot of sunshine, salt farmers like us have a good harvest but are not very happy because of the low price. Currently, the price of white salt has dropped to 900-1,100 VND/kg, down 30% compared to the previous crop,” said Mr. Ut.

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Although salt making is extremely hard work, the price of salt is cheap.

Some other salt farmers also expressed concern and regret when they put in a lot of effort but in the end, they could not sell for a good price. “With an area of ​​over 1,000m2, my family's salt field yielded more than 30 tons. After deducting expenses, I only made a profit of about 20 million VND after many months of hardship in the salt field,” a salt farmer confided.

Although the salt industry in Bac Lieu has existed for hundreds of years, salt farmers in the coastal region have not been able to get rich from this “white gold” mine. The reasons are because of small cultivation areas, cheap prices, concerns about the consumer market...

At a meeting with businesses in early December 2023, Mr. Pham Van Thieu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Lieu province, said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had provided the locality with 130 billion VND to invest in infrastructure to develop the salt-making profession. Thereby, contributing to encouraging and accompanying salt farmers to preserve the traditional profession.

According to Mr. Pham Van Thieu, in the planning, the province will retain more than 1,600 hectares of salt production and have a specific development plan to increase the value of salt grains as well as help salt farmers have a better life.