Marcos signs law to boost Philippines’ salt industry
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law a measure aimed at turning the Philippines into a salt exporter.
Marcos signed the Philippine Salt Industry Development Act on March 11, the Presidential Communications Office said Sunday.
The 23-page legislation seeks to revitalize what legislators call a “dying” industry and achieve self-sufficiency by equipping salt farmers with appropriate technology and financial, production and marketing support.
Despite having a coastline 11 times larger than Vietnam, the country only produces 100,000 metric tons of salt a year, a stark contrast to Vietnam’s 1.1 MT output, according to the Philippine Association of Salt Industry Networks.
Under the new law, a Philippine Salt Industry Development Roadmap will be formulated and a “salt council” to accelerate the modernization and industrialization of the country’s salt industry will be established.
The Department of Agriculture will chair the council, while the Department of Trade and Industry will serve as the vice-chair. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will choose the representatives from cooperatives.
Conservation organization Wetlands International earlier warned that converting abandoned and underutilized fishponds into salt farms risks exacerbating the degradation of mangroves in the country. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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