Salt supply in PH still sufficient, says DTI

FILE PHOTO: Pangasinan derives its name from salt produced by farms in the western section of the province. Salt production has been generating livelihood for local farmers for 80 years. —WILLIE LOMIBAO

MANILA, Philippines — Salt supply in the country is still enough, an official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assured the public on Thursday, despite the increase in its cost.

Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo justified the hike in the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) of salt in the country.

“Kailangan maintindihan din natin na itong mga manufacturers na ito sobrang tagal na hindi nagtataas ng presyo,” she said in a public briefing.

(We have to understand that these manufacturers have not raised their prices for a long time.)

“So sa computations natin, talaga naman dapat lang na itaas natin ang presyo. But on the issue of supply, we have sufficient supply…Ang pagtaas ng presyo ng mga ilan na locally manufactured [salt] ang dahilan lang po nila ay kailangan na nilang magtaas [dahil] over the years, ngayon lang sila nagtataas. Hindi po dahil sa shortage natin ng asin,” the official continued.

(So in our computations, it’s just right for the price to increase. But on the issue of supply, we have sufficient supply… The price increase of some locally-manufactured [salt] is because they already need to increase their price since over the years, it’s only now that they increased their prices. It’s not because of a shortage in salt.)

Based on the latest SRP released by the DTI on August 12, the SRP for 500 grams of iodized rock salt is P21.75 and P23.00 for one kilogram.

For iodized salt, the SRP for 100-gram packs is P4.50; P9.00 to P11.75 for 250 grams; P16.00 to P21.25 for 500 grams; and P29.00 for one kilogram.

Aside from salt, the DTI also released on August 12 its updated SRPs for other goods such as canned sardines and meat, milk, soap, bottled water, and instant noodles, among others.

The Department of Agriculture is focusing its efforts on scaling up salt production to reduce the country’s dependence on imported salt.

READ: Department of Agriculture pushes boost to salt making

Danilo Fausto, president of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc., said the country is sourcing 93 percent of its salt needs from abroad.

KGA