The signing into law of a measure that aims to revitalize the salt industry will bolster the efforts of the country to achieve food security, according to nonprofit organization Philippine Chamber of Cooperatives Inc. (Coop Chamber).
The group said salt is an important ingredient in food and is essential to certain industries.
Coop Chamber also said that it shares the views of the Salt Industry Networks which declared that salt self-sufficiency will contribute to the agro-industrial development of the Philippines.
“Salt is, therefore, a national food security issue—and without salt, we believe that the Philippines is vulnerable to a food supply chain crisis,” it said in a statement.
The Philippine Salt Industry Development Act was signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last March 11, a move that is aligned with the administration’s food security agenda.
“It should be noted that the Philippine salt industry was in a dire situation because despite the country being archipelagic, it relies upon its salt through importation coming from China and Australia,” the group said.
Citing data from the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute the group noted that the production of salt in the Philippines is only 114,623.29 metric tons, which represents less than 20 percent of the country’s annual salt requirement.
As part of efforts to revive the salt industry, the law mandated the creation of the Philippine Salt Industry Development Council to be headed by the Department of Agriculture and co-chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry and representatives from the cooperatives in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The council will formulate the Philippine Salt Industry Development Roadmap containing the short-term, medium-term, and long-term development plans, including specific and priority programs and projects.
“The role of cooperatives in the council is very much welcome as well, as we all know that cooperatives have a lot of experience on the ground in promoting programs and projects in partnership with the government to alleviate the poor and create livelihood activities for the upliftment of the lives of its members and the communities where they operate,” said the group’s chairman Noel Raboy.
Apart from the creation of the council, Republic Act (RA) 11985 also stipulated the imposition of a 9-percent tariff on imported salt. Prior to the new law, the government slaps a tariff of 1 percent on table salt.
The new ad valorem rate will be applied on all imported salt, including table salt, denatured salt, pure sodium chloride, whether or not aqueous solution of containing added anti-caking or free-flowing agent, as well as sea water.
After 90 days from the implementation of RA 11985, the collected salt tariff will be credited to the Salt Industry Development and Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (Sidcef) to be created in the special accounts of the National Treasury.
The law mandates the Agriculture Secretary and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director to manage Sidcef. Its beneficiaries include salt cooperatives/associations of subsistence and small farmers and fishers.
The fund will exist for 10 years and will be used to provide the machinery and equipment for salt production, establish a salt farm warehouse, provide extension services and develop modern salt production and processing technology in line with the roadmap.
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