Edible salt could be imported following domestic production shortage in order to stabilise the market, Bangladesh Competition Commission gave such an order in the judgment of a case on Monday.
"In that perspective, there is a need to calculate actual demand, production and consumption of edible salt before permitting import," said the commission.
"If there is any shortage of salt in the domestic market, the commerce and industries ministries will take necessary decisions and steps as per the Import Policy 2021-24 and National Salt Policy 2022," said the commission in its order.
The case was filed by Narayanganj Salt Millers Association President Paritosh Kanti Saha back in 2020 while defendants were the government agencies concerned.
The competition commission also directed the land ministry and the government authorities of Cox's Bazar and Chattogram to take required initiatives so that salt growers could get lease of land at rational rates, as the commission observed that above 60 per cent of the production costs were spent on land rent.
It said the rent of land per hectare increased to Tk 70,000 now which was 6,000 in 2011.
Land rent continued to increase due to the involvement of middlemen who are taking high rents from the salt producers.
"The matter should be taken seriously by the industries ministry, the land ministry and coastal district administrations, including Chattogram and Cox's Bazar districts, who could take effective measures to allocate land to real salt farmers at reasonable prices by conserving land for salt farming," said the commission's order.
Regarding the lack of necessary iodine and presence of harmful ingredients like sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) in various branded salt packets in the market, the competition commission also directed the National Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI) and the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority to regularly check samples of all types of edible salt.
Bangladesh produced a record 1.83 million tonnes of salt in the last season - almost same as the local demand, according to the industries ministry.
Branded iodised salt is being sold at Tk 33-40 a kg while loose salt at Tk 23-32 a kg in the market now, showing a static trend in August.
Price of loose salt increased notably in July during the Eid-ul-Azha time due mainly to rising demand following rawhide collection across the country.
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