The country’s largest salt producer, Salinas Foods, Inc., last week promised to provide technical support and training to cooperatives and individuals interested in venturing into the salt business in Catanduanes.
President and Chief Executive Officer Johnny Khonghun told the local media that the Bolinao, Pangasinan-based company is willing to contribute significantly to the growth of the fledgling local salt industry and increasing livelihood opportunities in the island.
Accompanied by a technical team that earlier visited potential sites for salt production, the Salinas CEO said his company would like to assist in the organization of salt-making cooperatives, strengthening the product’s value chain and opening a wider market for local producers especially in coastal municipalities dependent on the sea for their livelihood.
The cooperation between the company and the provincial government headed by Governor Patrick Alain T. Azanza is anchored on the latter’s 5-K Core Governance, particularly on livelihood and health, through the ASINsado Project which seeks to establish salt production in Bato, Gigmoto, Caramoran and Pandan.
Under Supplemental Budget No. 1 recently approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the amount of P4 million has been allocated for the administration’s salt making project.
In its presentation, Salinas officials said it will provide support to local salt-makers’ cooperatives in the form of technical expertise especially in constructing salt beds and support for operation, field supervision including troubleshooting and maintenance, and training and knowledge sharing,
The formation of such cooperatives comprising fisherfolk, salt farmers and other groups identified by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is mandated under Republic Act 11985 or the Philippine Salt Industry Development Act and RA 8172 or the Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide (ASIN) Law, the team explained.
Under said law, the Department of Agriculture, BFAR, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Landbank of the Philippines, and the Department of Tourism are mandated to support and promote the local salt industry.
Salinas officials stated that they would prepare the cooperative’s project proposal or comprehensive business model to the agency or local funding partner for approval.
The proposal would encompass all aspects of salt production from the seawater source to evaporation, harvest, and marketing and distribution.
Using Salinas’ advanced making technology particularly its vertical salt evaporator, they said, local producers can expect five times greater efficiency, higher yield and reduced land requirement, and weather-adaptive production.
As part of the evaluation of the province’s salt production potential, Khonghun and company conducted inspections of sites in Virac, San Andres, Caramoran and Pandan in order to assess their suitability for the establishment of salt-making facilities.
Based on their assessment, the Salinas group were positive about the potential of the selected sites for the installation of salt beds and salt processing facilities.
Among sites near the sea or in coastal areas considered were existing fishponds covered by BFAR Fishpond Lease Agreements (FLA), private lands or fishponds, or inland areas connected by a waterway to the coast.
The ideal location for efficient and sustainable salt production, Salinas experts said, would be those near markets, with reliable seawater, above sea level elevation, and with secure lease agreements, it stressed.
“Strategic locations would lead to higher value of salt production, as the site contributes to low logistics cost, higher profitability, operational resilience, and sustainable livelihoods,” they explained.
On marketing, Salinas said they would buy back fully iodized salt produced locally for marketing under its best-selling FIDEL Iodized Salt brand as the main marketing segment, with a secondary market in the fishing, coconut and food industries.
The company also promoted its other salt products including the Salinas Premium Fish Sauce or “patis”
with protein content of 8-11 percent.