The Government has been asked to buy200,000 tonnes of salt to help salt producers cope with the fallingprice.

The Vietnam Northern Food Company (Vinafood) will buy the salt fromthe farmers, ensuring that farmers receive profits of 30-40 percent,according to the director of the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment's Department of Agro-forestry and Fisheries ProductProcessing and Trade and Salt Industry, Le Xuan.

A survey from Vinafood reports that salt prices have dropped by 33percent since last year.

Salt is currently priced at 600-800 VND (0.03-0.04 USD)per kg in thenorthern region of the country and 400-500 VND per kg in centralVietnam .

This year's lengthy hot season, which brought in a bumper crop forfarmers, along with an increase in salt imports has caused prices tofall.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in southern BacLieu province reported that salt production in the province set a recordfor production this year, with an output of more than 200,000 tonnes.

However, only 30 percent of the province's salt has been sold becausefarmers are waiting for prices to rise, said Tran Thanh Son from thedepartment's rural development office.

"While waiting for prices to increase, farmers are having a difficulttime protecting their products from the rain and humidity," he said.

Salt produced by local farmers is often used to process and storeseafood and make fish sauce.

Between 500,000-600,000 tonnes of salt have been imported intoVietnam , which is equal to 70 percent of the country's annual saltoutput.

According to experts, most facilities prefer imported salt because ofits cleanliness and whiteness.

Xuan explained that the ministry allows salt to be imported becausethe country's needs 1.3 million tonnes of salt a year, but Vietnamonly produces between one and 1.1 million tonnes a year.

"Apart from buying salt for farmers, the ministry will also suggestimplementing other policies including providing salt makers withindustrial technology for production," he said./.