Sea salt farmers in three coastal provinces have come together to increase their bargaining power and ensure the sustainability of production, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
Anat: Co-op will improve output
Anat Wisetrojana, the ministry's inspector-general, said more than 200 sea salt producers in Phetchaburi, Samut Sakhon, and Samut Songkhram have formed a Thai sea salt cooperative to improve the production and promotion of their products.
These coastal provinces are known for their sea salt.
According to Mr Anat, the cooperative is a part of the ministry's five-year strategic plan for 2017-2021 for sea salt farming, which was devised after the cabinet in March 2011 recognised the production of sea salt as a farming activity, and its producers as farmers.
Under the strategy, sea salt farmers are encouraged to base their production on market demand and make use of the cooperative to improve their finances and livelihoods.
The cooperative's structure will give the farmers greater bargaining power, which is hoped to stabilise market prices.
The strategic plan also aims at preserving sea salt farming and promoting sea salt farms as eco-tourism hot spots, which will boost farmers' incomes, he added.
Mr Anat said sea salt farmers will organise an auction of more than 160,000 tonnes of salt through the cooperative.
A total of 160,744 tonnes of salt input are expected from 228 cooperative members this year, which is comprised of "white salt" at 8,181 tonnes, medium salt at 149,540 tonnes, and black salt at 3,020 tonnes.
Bids will be accepted from this month to June on Mondays in Samut Sakhon, on Wednesdays in Samut Songkhram, and Fridays in Phetchaburi.
Mr Anat said the strategic plan for the management of sea salt production is hoped to boost incomes of salt farmers and ensure the sustainability of salt production.
"The ministry has streamlined the sea salt production as a whole, and the move will lead to the production of high-quality salt, a reduction in production costs, and give the salt farmers more leverage," he said.
According to Mr Anat, the ministry is developing two versions of the Agricultural Commodity and Food Standards (ACFS) on sea salt production.
"The first will deal with best practices in sea salt farming, while the second will deal with the end product," he said.
"These will help with the ministry's efforts to equip farmers with the necessary know-how to produce high-quality salts," Mr Anat added.
