INDIA’S SALT PRODUCTION MAY DIP, SAY PRODUCERS

NEW DELHI, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- India, the world's third largest salt
producer, may face a production crunch due to erratic monsoon and shrinking land to harvest the commodity.

India produces nearly 20 million tonnes, after China's 60 million tonnes and the United States' 46 million tonnes output.

"In the next two to three years production may be down, not enough land to produce salt because many states are taking back land for (sea) port developments.

"There could be a 10 to 20 per cent drop," Indian Salt Manufacturers' Association president Hiralal Parakh told Bernama from Gandhidham, India's salt capital in Gujarat.

Sea salt is mainly produced in the coastal states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karanataka, Maharashtra, Orissa, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

Last year, India exported about three million tonnes of salt to Indonesia (a major importer), Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, where it was used in the chemical industry, for human consumption and in the ice melting process.

This year's prolonged monsoon in salt producing regions is also likely to hamper production that could eventually pinch on exports, as heavy rains dilute salt pans and flood salt producing areas.

"Our salt exports may drop nearly 30 per cent because of the extended monsoon (until September) this year. Shortage of land and rising land price is affecting production," said Tuticorin Small-Scale Salt Manufacturers' Association secretary A.R.A.S. Dhanabalan

After Gujarat, Tamil Nadu is the second largest salt producing state in India.
--BERNAMA