By LYI HTAW – Salt businessmen in Mon State are losing money from the salt trade after new regulations instigated by Burmese regime in accordance with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) restricted the truck weight to transporting no more than 10 tons at a time.
Possessing 20 acres of salt fields in Panga village, Thanphyuzayart Township, Nai Tin Aung commented, “In the past, we could transport 20 tons of salt in one truck. But now, we only can transport 10 tons.”
“As the cost of the transportation is high, and we are allowed only limited salt transport, we are not making a profit.”
The cost of transportation, one viss [Burmese measurement] of raw salt is 100 kyat, but one viss of raw salt goes for 50 kyat at the market, whereas cooking salt is sold for 70 kyat per viss.
Last year, salt businessman only had to pay 30 kyat per viss for transporting salt from Panga village to Rangoon.
As a major area of salt production in Mon state, Panga village has over 1,000 acres of salt. Mon State produces 10 percent of the salt in Burma.
Panga salt businessmen have begun to worry as the vehicle fees have increased and the need for more transportation has increased as well.
Due to unusual rainfall for three days in December, many piles of raw salt, collected in September for cooking, were damaged.
“At this time last year, I had 200,000 viss of raw salt. But, I only have 40,000 viss now because of the rain,” said Nai Tin Aung.
“I have already invested 10 million kyat. I do not think I will get it back this year,” he said.
After Cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy Delta in Burma in 2008, salt prices in Panga were 400 kyat per viss. Over 1,000 acres of state-owned salt fields and 23,430 private acres were destroyed by the cyclone.
