Every year profit billions
Coming to the famous Vinh Thinh salt field, asking about Mr. Phan Van Phuc (70 years old, living in Vinh Tien hamlet, Vinh Thinh commune, Hoa Binh district, Bac Lieu) seems like everyone knows him, because he has been involved in the salt making profession for nearly 40 years.
Workers harvest salt for Mr. Phan Van Phuc's family
Mr. Phuc said that after many years of joining the defense of the Fatherland, in 1979, he was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown, got married, and started a business with the family's multi-generational salt-making profession. Previously, Vinh Thinh salt field was a barren, salty land, covered with mangrove trees, wild tamarinds, and elephant foot grass as tall as a buffalo's belly.
With a few hectares of land given by his parents, Mr. Phuc and his wife cleared the land and built a dike around it to produce salt. Because there was no machinery, all the steps were done by hand. In the early years, the dike was not solid, and the salt water stored in the salt fields was gradually drained through the holes, so the salt yield was very low. However, thanks to his diligence and hard work, Mr. Phuc learned from experience while working and was not afraid to invest, so gradually each year's salt crop brought in a good profit.
Salt billionaire Phan Van Phuc
With the profits, Mr. Phuc saved up to buy more land, expanding the production area every year. By 2000, he owned over 40 hectares of salt production land, harvesting over 75,000 bushels of salt (30 kg/bushel) each year. Mr. Phuc is considered to have the largest salt production area in this area. "For decades of salt production, I have never suffered a loss. Every year, my family makes a profit of 1-2 billion VND from the salt crop. Some years, the profit increases many times over," Mr. Phuc happily shared.
Salt harvester
Thanks to the salt making business, Mr. Phuc's family became the most prosperous in the region. Mr. Phuc shared that from the money saved from selling tens of thousands of bushels of salt, his family was able to build 6 villas and spacious houses on Vinh Thinh salt field. In addition, he also built a large-scale hotel in the center of Bac Lieu city.
Only stick with the salt industry
According to Mr. Phuc’s experience, the salt industry has a recurring paradox: in years with a lot of sunshine, the salt harvest is bumper, but the price drops sharply. In seasons affected by unseasonal rains, the salt output is low, but the price of salt increases. Therefore, the income of salt workers is always unstable.
Mr. Phan Van Phuc's salt storage
In particular, for salt farmers in difficult circumstances, without capital for production and having to "sell unripe salt", they only have to worry about enough food and clothing. People do not have money to improve the land, hire workers, pump salt water into the salt fields... so most of them have to borrow money from traders in advance. When harvesting salt, they are forced to pay a lower price by traders, the purchase price is about 40% lower than the market price. If salt on the market is 10,000 VND/bag, traders only buy it for 6,000 VND/bag. Therefore, many people cannot stick with the salt industry, and gradually have to convert salt production land to shrimp farming.
Mr. Phan Van Phuc's salt production area seen from above
Mr. Phan Van Phuc's salt production area
Talking about his experience in producing high-profit salt, Mr. Phuc said that if salt is sold immediately after harvest, the selling price is usually not high, especially in years of good harvest and large output. Therefore, he does not sell it immediately to traders but proactively builds many warehouses to store it. Salt is stored until the price increases and he calculates that it is profitable, then he sells it. According to Mr. Phuc, usually every 3 or 5 years, the price of salt suddenly increases once. The price usually fluctuates from 10,000 - 15,000 VND/bag, but he has had many big hits, selling for 70,000 - 100,000 VND/bag, earning billions of VND in profit each crop.
Mr. Phan Van Phuc's salt production area covered with tarpaulin
Mr. Phuc shared that his children are now married and living on their own, so he gave them more than 50% of the salt-making land. Mr. Phuc currently has more than 20 hectares of salt-making land and 3 warehouses with an output of more than 10,000 bushels/warehouse. In addition, he also set aside 2 hectares to invest in spreading tarpaulins to produce white salt. After the salting season, he also raises shrimp, crabs, and wild fish to provide income for workers.
Salt production is one of the traditional occupations with a history of more than 100 years in Bac Lieu. Salt fields once stretched for dozens of kilometers and Bac Lieu salt products were famous in the six provinces of the South, considered the "salt capital" of Vietnam. To make salt grains, salt farmers had to shed many drops of sweat and tears. In 2020, the salt making profession in Bac Lieu was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage.
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