Cambodia expects salt shortage and imports as yield hopes melt away

Preliminary data shows that Kampot province’s salt yields currently stand at about 30,000 tonnes, or less than half of the more than 68,000 tonnes logged last year. - PPP

PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): Unseasonal rains and adverse climatic conditions have decimated Cambodia’s salt production, and as the harvest season comes to a close, industry insiders fear output could end up as low as one-fifth of last year’s levels, obliging the Kingdom to import the essential mineral to meet domestic demand.

The coastal provinces of Kampot and Kep are Cambodia’s primary salt producers, and the harvest season typically lasts from late December to mid-May, or even until June with hotter and drier conditions.