“The decision to import 170,000 tonnes of salt when the year has just started and the salt season has not yet come has to be reconsidered," Mr. Pham Nang Phong, Vice General Manager of Vietnam National Salt Corporation told DTiNews
Imported salt will threaten the life of domestic salt workers.
Just days after Tet, the Ministry of Industry and Trade granted a quota for 170,000 tonnes of salt to be imported. What is your opinion on this decision?
I have heard from the media, but because I have not been officially informed of anything, there is little I can comment on. I just know that if the domestic salt production this year is successful, it will not be a very wise decision to have this large amount of salt imported into the country. I do not really see any reason why the two ministries in management could not coordinate with each other to agree on this decision before it was made. Even if the Ministry of Industry and Trade thought it was necessary to grant the quota, it is still important to just wait and see what happens first.
Right now, it is too early to determine if the salt harvest season will yield a good crop. The season has just started in the South Central Coast, while salt farmers in the North Region are just now preparing for their season.
If the domestic salt production this year is successful then we will not need to import salt, even for industry, with the exception of a few factories that demand high-quality salt, but that is only a small number.
Domestically produced salt can certainly meet the demand of normal factories. It has been said our domestic industrial salt’s quality does not meet the required standards for factories, but it is not true. Salt from India and Pakistan has the same content as the salt produced in Vietnam. The only difference is imported salt has less impurities and a lower level of grit in it than our local salt.
It the exact amount of salt to be imported is 170,000 tonnes, I think it was a very hasty decision at this time of the year for that quota to be granted.
If our domestically produced salt is sufficient enough to supply and be able to meet the standards of our local factories, why do we still have to import salt from overseas in your opinion?
The problem does not lie in the quality of the salt, but in the quantity. Salt from the South Central Coast can definitely meet the standard requirements. However, the government thinks that the domestic supply may not be sufficient enough for the demand of the industry as the harvest size varies from year to year.
Vietnam is quickly developing, and so are our chemical and food industries which results in a demand for a larger supply of salt. Salt prices need to be adjusted to ensure that our domestically produced salt prices are not higher than world salt prices.
This is a matter of concern to our salt producing companies, in regard to the benefits they are able to receive when buying salt. Quota to import salt should not be granted to businesses too easily. If more profit is made by buying imported salt, businesses will continue to ask the State’s permission to import.
Besides that, importing for industry use has a preferential tax price, thus making the import mean a great option for these businesses to choose from.
Do you think that a lack of coordination between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the reason behind in the decision to import salt?
Lets not try to determine whether the decision to have 170,000 tonnes of salt imported is right or wrong. The current concern here is if this amount is able to even meet the demand of the industries and if the quality of our domestically produced salt can meet the necessary standards for industry. If the Ministry of Agriculture can answer these two questions and the local salt supply is sufficient, there will be no need for salt to be imported.
Even if the Ministry of Industry and Trade brings forward a list of all the industries which demand high-quality salt, we must consider if the information is accurate and whether these industries really need this particular type of salt, and what level of quality it is that is needed. More often than not the demand is not there but due to some benefit, businesses still ask for a quota to be granted.
For a long time, it is often thought that locally produced salt does not meet the usual standards but what are the standards here? We need to set the standards before deciding that something is not up to the standards. Some factory requires really high-quality salt, but they actually don’t really need salt that high-quality. It does not seem very plausible to have simply accepted and granted quota according to these industries’ demand. Businesses only think about themselves and put their profit at the top above everything else.
The State must objectively and carefully evaluate all aspects before making such an important decision. I want to emphasise that salt from Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, and Khanh Hoa Provinces are basically able to meet the demand in quality for the industries.
Perhaps, the salt supply within the first two months of the year was not sufficient enough. I assume so. The amount of industrial salt imported, in recent years, varies between 170,000 and 240,000 tonnes per year. However, the decision to import 170,000 tonnes right when the year has just started needs to be reconsidered.
What is going to happen if this year we have a bumper salt harvest? In my opinion, we should import only in accordance with our needs, not as an annual plan. By importing such large amounts of salt, our local salt prices would drop significantly, and we would lose part of our foreign currency to import salt, which would be a waste. The profit is small but the damage will be large.
I have heard from the media, but because I have not been officially informed of anything, there is little I can comment on. I just know that if the domestic salt production this year is successful, it will not be a very wise decision to have this large amount of salt imported into the country. I do not really see any reason why the two ministries in management could not coordinate with each other to agree on this decision before it was made. Even if the Ministry of Industry and Trade thought it was necessary to grant the quota, it is still important to just wait and see what happens first.
Right now, it is too early to determine if the salt harvest season will yield a good crop. The season has just started in the South Central Coast, while salt farmers in the North Region are just now preparing for their season.
If the domestic salt production this year is successful then we will not need to import salt, even for industry, with the exception of a few factories that demand high-quality salt, but that is only a small number.
Domestically produced salt can certainly meet the demand of normal factories. It has been said our domestic industrial salt’s quality does not meet the required standards for factories, but it is not true. Salt from India and Pakistan has the same content as the salt produced in Vietnam. The only difference is imported salt has less impurities and a lower level of grit in it than our local salt.
It the exact amount of salt to be imported is 170,000 tonnes, I think it was a very hasty decision at this time of the year for that quota to be granted.
If our domestically produced salt is sufficient enough to supply and be able to meet the standards of our local factories, why do we still have to import salt from overseas in your opinion?
The problem does not lie in the quality of the salt, but in the quantity. Salt from the South Central Coast can definitely meet the standard requirements. However, the government thinks that the domestic supply may not be sufficient enough for the demand of the industry as the harvest size varies from year to year.
Vietnam is quickly developing, and so are our chemical and food industries which results in a demand for a larger supply of salt. Salt prices need to be adjusted to ensure that our domestically produced salt prices are not higher than world salt prices.
This is a matter of concern to our salt producing companies, in regard to the benefits they are able to receive when buying salt. Quota to import salt should not be granted to businesses too easily. If more profit is made by buying imported salt, businesses will continue to ask the State’s permission to import.
Besides that, importing for industry use has a preferential tax price, thus making the import mean a great option for these businesses to choose from.
Do you think that a lack of coordination between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the reason behind in the decision to import salt?
Lets not try to determine whether the decision to have 170,000 tonnes of salt imported is right or wrong. The current concern here is if this amount is able to even meet the demand of the industries and if the quality of our domestically produced salt can meet the necessary standards for industry. If the Ministry of Agriculture can answer these two questions and the local salt supply is sufficient, there will be no need for salt to be imported.
Even if the Ministry of Industry and Trade brings forward a list of all the industries which demand high-quality salt, we must consider if the information is accurate and whether these industries really need this particular type of salt, and what level of quality it is that is needed. More often than not the demand is not there but due to some benefit, businesses still ask for a quota to be granted.
For a long time, it is often thought that locally produced salt does not meet the usual standards but what are the standards here? We need to set the standards before deciding that something is not up to the standards. Some factory requires really high-quality salt, but they actually don’t really need salt that high-quality. It does not seem very plausible to have simply accepted and granted quota according to these industries’ demand. Businesses only think about themselves and put their profit at the top above everything else.
The State must objectively and carefully evaluate all aspects before making such an important decision. I want to emphasise that salt from Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, and Khanh Hoa Provinces are basically able to meet the demand in quality for the industries.
Perhaps, the salt supply within the first two months of the year was not sufficient enough. I assume so. The amount of industrial salt imported, in recent years, varies between 170,000 and 240,000 tonnes per year. However, the decision to import 170,000 tonnes right when the year has just started needs to be reconsidered.
What is going to happen if this year we have a bumper salt harvest? In my opinion, we should import only in accordance with our needs, not as an annual plan. By importing such large amounts of salt, our local salt prices would drop significantly, and we would lose part of our foreign currency to import salt, which would be a waste. The profit is small but the damage will be large.
No comments:
Post a Comment