The long history of the global salt industry affirms that salt production is both an ancient and enduring endeavor, developing in step with human civilization. Global production stood at 274 million tons in 2023, worth $34.1 billion, an increase of 40 million tons from 20 years ago. Though salt no longer holds the same political or military weight as in previous centuries, its role in the modern world remains vital.
With its favorable geopolitical position, opportunities for global integration, and abundant natural resources, Vietnam is well-positioned to realize a new vision - transforming its salt industry into large-scale production that contributes meaningfully to national development in this era of integration and growth.
Bright spot
Today, salt has more than 14,000 applications in economic and social life. Global salt consumption per capita averages 35-40 kilos a year and 15 kilos in Vietnam - an indicator often used to gauge a nation’s industrial and social development. The global salt industry continues to grow steadily, at 2.5-3 per cent annually.
Vietnam currently has about 11,000 ha of salt production areas, yielding some 1 million tons a year, with half of all output coming from traditional salt farmers. However, the domestic salt industry continues to grapple with a number of longstanding structural weaknesses.
In the northern region, salt is mainly produced using the traditional sand-drying method, which relies heavily on manual labor and rudimentary tools. Productivity is rather low, at only 50-60 tons per hectare, while workplace productivity stands at just 3-5 tons per worker per year. The resulting low-quality salt struggles to compete in the market, leaving salt farmers in difficult economic conditions.
Similarly, in the southern region, scattered water-evaporation salt fields perform only marginally better, with yields of 25-30 tons per hectare and a short production season of four to five months.
The only bright spot lies in nine large-scale industrial salt fields concentrated in south-central Khanh Hoa province, such as Hon Khoi, Cam Nghia, Cam Ranh, Dam Vua, Tri Hai, Ca Na, Quan The, and Thong Thuan, as well as Vinh Hao in neighboring Lam Dong province’s Tuy Phong ward.
When operated under proper technical standards - with deep brine evaporation, long crystallization periods, rain cover, mechanical harvesting, and immediate washing after collection - these fields can reach a productivity level of up to 150 tons per hectare per year. Salt quality fully meets domestic industrial needs and can even be exported.
For many years now, public opinion has noted a paradox: why does Vietnam, with more than 3,200 km of coastline, still import around half a million tons of salt annually, and has done so for the past 25 years?
This, first of all, reflects a growing economy where rising production and consumption increase overall salt demand. The deeper reason, however, lies in the industry’s failure to develop new large-scale production zones to meet market needs. Meanwhile, traditional salt-making areas, especially sand-based fields in the north, are shrinking due to spontaneous land-use changes. Infrastructure in these areas has also deteriorated severely over time, with little reinvestment or upgrading, leading to lower productivity and output.
Most of Vietnam’s salt imports serve industrial production, which requires large, stable supplies of high-quality raw salt. Since domestic industrial salt fields have yet to fully meet these requirements, imports remain a necessary solution to balance supply and demand.
Rising tides, shifting ground
A major challenge facing Vietnam’s salt industry in the years to come is global climate change and rising sea levels, which are expected to have direct and severe impacts on production. Vietnam is one of five countries projected to be most affected.
The majority of salt fields in northern Vietnam, which rely on the traditional sand-drying method, and those in the south, which use seawater evaporation, are located in low-lying coastal areas that depend on tidal flows to draw in seawater. As sea levels rise, however, these production zones will become increasingly vulnerable, threatening around 6,000 ha of salt-producing land, equivalent to roughly 400,000 tons of output that would need to be replaced.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has forecast that domestic salt demand will reach 2 million tons a year by 2030. To achieve self-sufficiency and reduce imports, the industry will need to nearly double both its production area and output within the next five years. This is a difficult challenge, but one that could be met by focusing development on the central coastal “salt belt”, particularly in Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong provinces.
This coastal region enjoys exceptional natural advantages in climate, sunlight, rainfall, wind, and seawater salinity - ideal conditions for producing high-yield, high-quality salt for industrial use.
Today, nine large-scale industrial salt fields with a total area of 4,700 ha and an annual output of 600,000 tons are concentrated here. Endowed by nature, the area remains unique in Vietnam and the wider region, and in the future may become the country’s last remaining stronghold for salt production.
Roadmap for renewal
To turn this vision into reality, experts suggest that the government urgently conduct surveys and assess the economic and social potential of salt resource regions, as a foundation for developing a long-term “Vietnam Industrial Salt Development Strategy” with a 50-year outlook and clear objectives.
The plan aims to raise total output to 3-4 million tons on an area of around 20,000 ha. This could be achieved by expanding the production zone inland by 15-20 km and elevating salt fields to 35-50 meters above sea level, making use of idle land, barren hills, underperforming forests, and especially low-yield single-crop rice areas.
A large-scale production base would generate strong economic spillover effects. Each ton of salt can produce around 0.5 cubic meters of brine, enough to support a downstream chemical industry. According to scientists, brine can yield up to 60 per cent of the total economic value, while sodium chloride (salt) accounts for just 40 per cent. If fully recovered and reused, brine could transform the salt industry into a green, zero-waste, and environmentally-sustainable sector.
Achieving this ambitious goal would require investment of several trillion VND. Under current policy, the State budget covers 100 per cent of infrastructure, land clearance, and resettlement costs, but table salt production generates no direct revenue for reinvestment, creating a major funding gap.
Experts therefore recommend introducing indirect taxes on salt industry activities to create a reinvestment fund. This could include taxing the nine existing industrial salt fields, which produce about 600,000 tons annually, and applying value added tax (VAT) to 500,000 tons of processed salt sold to consumers.
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