The price of salt has started falling as soon as there is no salt production in the field. Due to the syndicate, the price at the field level has come down by around Tk 350. But the price of 80 kg sack of salt was 800 Tk. If this trend continues, the domestic salt industry will be destroyed. Farmers will be beaten in the field. Therefore, the farmers have sought the direct intervention of the Prime Minister to save this promising sector of the country.
Leaders of Cox's Bazar Salt Farmers and Traders Struggle Council gave details at a press conference at Cox's Bazar Press Club on Tuesday at 4.30 pm.
In a written statement at the press conference, Cox's Bazar Salt Farmers and Traders Struggle Council Coordinator Advocate Shaheed Ullah said that multiple syndicates are conspiring to make the country dependent on foreign salt by discouraging farmers from cultivating salt. If this conspiracy is not stopped at this moment, the domestic salt industry will reach the brink of destruction. Cox's Bazar and some parts of Banshkhali and about 56 thousand 280 acres of land, at least 55 thousand salt farmers are involved in salt cultivation. In addition, more than 70 percent of the people make a living by trading in salt. As a result, if the domestic salt industry is destroyed, thousands of people who have no other occupation will become unemployed.
At a time when domestic salt farmers have been able to produce large quantities of salt this season by working hard and relying on the promise of the Prime Minister, a few unscrupulous mill owners are conspiring to reduce the price of salt at the field level but to increase the price of the same salt when they are planning to sell that to major salt refining companies. They want the salt farmers to be discouraged and leave the salt field after failing to meet the cost of production. At that time, the mill owners wanted to implement a conspiracy to stop the domestic salt production completely and make the country import dependent on foreign salt. In a written statement at the press conference, it was further stated that despite the huge salt reserves in the country, the dishonest mill owners' syndicate created an artificial salt crisis and put pressure on various quarters of the government by raising false information about the current salt crisis. The conspiracy of unscrupulous traders to import salt was foiled when the decision was taken unanimously on the basis of information provided by BSIC after taking the views of consumers, salt farmers and traders.
But when the dishonest few mill owners' syndicate again raised the issue of salt crisis and put pressure on the Ministry of Industries and the Ministry of Commerce, a re-zoom meeting was organized on January 26 this year under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Ministry of Industries. The conspiracy to import salt was thwarted again when the farmers' representatives, business representatives and important people associated with salt also participated in the zoom meeting and presented a statement assuring that there would be no salt crisis. The syndicate of unscrupulous mill owners did not stop at this and continued to put pressure on various quarters of the government to import salt by presenting the statement of salt crisis again. A meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Chairman of the Tariff Commission at the Circuit House in Cox's Bazar on February 24 this year to re-examine the need for import of salt. All those present at the meeting assured that there is no possibility of salt production this year due to favorable weather conditions in the country and there is no possibility of salt shortage this year. The mill owner's syndicate's salt import conspiracy was thwarted for the third time.
Kalim Ullah Kali, vice-president of the organization, said that the unscrupulous syndicate of salt mill owners started importing salt from abroad in November 2021, fearing that there would be a shortage of salt in the country. With the sincerity of all concerned including the Hon'ble Prime Minister, the import of salt was stopped. The Salt Mill Owners Syndicate, after a long struggle, failed to import salt and a few mill owners again formed a syndicate and forced the farmers to sell salt at a market price lower than the purchase price of salt. As a result, the farmers are living a dehumanized life by failing to make a living.
Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury Khokon Mia said that mill owners syndicate is conspiring in various ways with ACI Salt, Molla Salt, Fresh Salt and City Salt. Although the price of domestic salt has been reduced through the syndicate, the market price of edible salt has been kept at Tk 30-35 per kg. Even if people buy it at a lower price from the local salt farmers, the price of edible salt is never kept low.
Swaibul Islam Sabuj said at the press conference that they would like to convey through the media at the highest levels of government, including the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Commerce, that salt farmers and traders are urging government to follow the salt policy and save the domestic industry from destruction and save the livelihood of the salt farmers.
The press conference kindly requested the attention of the Hon'ble Prime Minister to save 55,000 farmers by thwarting the anti-national conspiracies and plots of the dishonest syndicate. A member of the organization, Yusuf Badri MR Khokon and others were present at the press conference held at Cox's Bazar Press Club.
