Salt producers angry over imports

Salt producers angry over imports

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

Thousands of small-scale salt producers along the north coast of
West Java called on the local administration to take action
against the sale of imported salt in Cirebon regency, which they
said had badly hit their incomes.

They threatened to occupy Cirebon port, through which the
imported salt has been flooding into the regency.

Local salt packaged in the traditional way is unable to
compete with well-packaged salt imported from India and
Australia.

The price of the local salt has plunged to Rp 65 (0.7 cents)
per kilogram since May from Rp 200 (2.4 cents) per kg previously,
causing hundreds of salt producers to seek work in the
construction sector.

More than 1,500 salt producers, mostly women, in the districts
of Mundu, Astanajapura and Pangenan have abandoned a total of
2,000 hectares of salt production sites, which used to produce
120 tons of salt annually.

"The producers have had to pile up stock in their homes due to
the falling prices, and many have had to take work on
construction sites to survive," said 36-year-old Sariah in her
village in Mundu district.

Another salt producer, Tasim, said the producers had conveyed
their protests over the imported salt to the local administration
and the port authorities, but so far no measures had been taken
to stop the salt imports.

Both Saria and Tasim questioned the local administration's
effectiveness since it had done nothing to resolve their problem.

Kaslim, another salt producer in Pangenan district, warned the
local police and military of the possibility of violent
demonstrations, saying the producers had the right to seek
protection for their livelihoods, and the government was obliged
to provide it.

The Cirebon administration head, Thamrin, was not available
for comment on Wednesday.