The irony has not been lost on us, that in spite of the Philippines being of agricultural terrain, we import many of our basic agricultural needs, betraying perhaps decades of benign neglect mainly by government and private greed.
The nation, one of the world's largest importers of rice, buys three million tons of rice from overseas every year. According to the United Nations trade data, we imported $451 million worth of sugar in 2021. And much of our garlic.
Fish has long been the Filipinos' main source of protein consuming an annual 40 kilograms percapita yet we imported $746 million of fish in 2021.
Salt, a basic commodity, is a dying local industry in the Philippines and for which the country is forced to spend our precious dollars to import to supply 80-90% of our needs. The country imports at least 850,000 metric tons of salt from mainly Australia and China every year.
This was revealed by industrialist Richard Lim, chairman of the Artemis Salt Corporation, one of the two biggest producers/traders of salt in the country. He is also chair of the APSTAI (Association of Salt Producers, traders, and Allied Industries) which controls 95% of the Philippine market.
Reportedly, the country started losing its salt beds after all the salt farms in Paranaque were converted to commercial and residential villages and the purchase of most of the salt beds in Bulacan by a conglomerate to pave way for the international airport there. They are visible to us because we are in Luzon but the same has happened in many other provinces.
Then came the ASIN law that mandated consumable salt must be iodized while for almost a decade now-BFAR sat on almost all applications for leasehold on foreshore lines suited for salt beds for years. Why?
There is no explanation for why BFAR is a laggard in this respect. Columnist Boo Chanco emphasized that the country only needs to dedicate less than 1% of the country's shoreline to genuine salt-making to get rid of all of our imported salt. Does the president, honorary chair of the Agriculture Department hear this?
Of course, there is the hostile changing weather. Not much we can do there. Regardless.
Thus, the Philippines only produces a scant 100,000 MT of local salt compared to Vietnam which produces 1.1 million metric tons of salt a year. The country has lost its previous capacity to produce its own salt.
Sixty percent of salt is used for cooking our food and finds its way as table salt and as a mix for seasonings but it has more industrial applications in the making of plastics, paper, coconut fertilizer, ice plant ingredients etc. In fact, there are over 1,000 uses of salt.
Local iodized salt of 35 kgs sells for P411, Australian iodized salt at 35 kgs for P200 and Industrial salt at 50 kgs for P275.
To aim for salt self-sufficiency in the medium-term future, Lim recommended that the ASIN Law be amended to rationalize further the requisites for iodized salt. As in Vietnam, salt needs to be better understood if governed under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture or the National Food Authority as it's a basic food commodity.
An FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and DOH (Department of Health) supervision may over emphasize conservative health considerations.
Lim likewise bats for better representation in the Salt Iodization Board and have salt producers, traders and a consumer group sitting there.
The DA and the DENR can collaborate and direct private sector where the stable areas to develop salt would be based on weather conditions and area suitability. There is a need for more berthing ports for local salt to prod its development. Finally, it behooves government to procure and disperse new technology in better salt iodization here.
The Committee on Food (through Rep. R Salo) in the Lower House is pushing a bill to rationalize the salt industry by correcting wrongful policies, product mis-development and enthusing private sector investment in this industry.
The APSTAI (which is affiliated with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry) should do its share as it controls 95 percent of the country's current salt business. After all, the salt business is a simple enough proposition and the country has the fifth longest shoreline in the world.
No need to waste our dollars for needless importation if we can.
(Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant and media practitioner. A Life and media member of Finex, his views here are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex. [email protected])