Import impasse blamed for high prices of salt

An inability to process lighter cargoes at Chittagong port is being blamed by traders for their failure to import unrefined salt since the government took action to stabilise the market following Cyclone Mora and flash floods last month. On July 5, the government in a statutory regulatory order allowed authorised importers to bring in 500,000 tonnes of salt from abroad after the natural disasters hit local production. According to Commerce Ministry officials, however, a total of 232 importers who were given permission to import salt have failed to bring in any shipment in that time. Some of the importers have already informed the ministry that importing has been beset by uncertainty because they have not been able to hire the lighter vessels needed to unload the imported salt when a mother vessel is held at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port. “There has long been a crisis of lighter cargoes at Chittagong port,” Chittagong Salt Mill Owners’ Association President Nurul Kabir said. In addition, port sources said at least 15-20 days would be needed for the shipment of unrefined salt imports from India to arrive at the port and another 20 days to complete the various processes at the port. While accepting that the lack of lighter vessels had been one of the reasons for the supply shortage of salt in the local market, Commerce Secretary Shubhasish Basu said the problem had recently been solved. Prices remain high, however: a 75 kg sack of salt is selling at Tk1,100-1,200 at the mill gate in Chittagong - a rise of 10% from just two weeks ago. Last year, the price stood below the Tk500 mark. High prices at the mill gate have already led to the increase of retail prices. Now unpacked refined salt is selling at Tk25 a kg, whereas the rate was Tk18-19 just a week ago. “The government will take stern action against the unscrupulous salt traders if they increase the prices abnormally ahead of the Eid,” the commerce secretary told the Dhaka Tribune. The Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) has also been protesting the salt price inflation. Usually, a total of 30,000 tonnes salt is needed to process the raw hide that is expected to be collected from across the country during Eid-ul-Azha. But in a press conference in Dhaka on August 19, the BTA alleged that some unscrupulous businesspeople had increased the prices of salt creating an artificial crisis in the market ahead of the Eid-ul Azha.