THE neglect of the salt industry for the past 15 years and the resulting need to import at least 80 percent of its needs is “quite shameful” for the Philippines, an archipelago, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva asserted at the weekend. He vowed to unravel the cause of this dire situation and push measures to redress it.
Sen. Villanueva expressed alarm over the recent statement from the Department of Agriculture that the Philippines cannot produce enough salt for its own needs because of government neglect over the past 15 years.
“This is quite shameful for an archipelagic country with more than 36,000 kilometers of shoreline. Let’s not waste further the potential to provide jobs for Filipinos in every island in the country by reviving the salt production industry,” the senator said.
The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. had recently said that the country currently imports 93 percent of its salt from Australia and China.
This, Villanueva noted, is a stark contrast from 1990 when the country was only importing 15 percent of its salt requirements.
“I am quite salty about the state of our salt production industry. It’s not too late for the country to become a net exporter of salt,” he said.
The senator filed Senate Resolution No. 100 to look into how the government can revive the salt production industry to create jobs and spur economic development.
Villanueva said the government must immediately address major hurdles to developing the country’s salt production industry, such as the lack of proper storage facilities, and of equipment such as water pumps and boats for hauling and storing salt.
The senator said he supports the recent Department of Labor and Employment’s unveiling of a plan to craft a roadmap for the salt industry, as introducing new strategies and providing training can generate up to 100,000 new jobs according to the agency.
“Reviving the country’s salt production industry can help solve unemployment, improve self-reliance for this basic commodity, and bring in money for the country through exports. It’s a triple win for the country,” Villanueva said.