Al Amin :
Sudden scarcity of potassium iodate or iodine, the main ingredient in iodised salt, has disrupted edible salt production severely in the country, the sector insiders said.
Around 70-90 grams of potassium iodate is required to add in each tonne of edible salt and around 30 metric tonnes of potassium iodate is used to add to salt every year.
The Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSIC) is the only institution that imports potassium iodate and supplies it at the price fixed by the government as per the demand of salt factories.
But recently, it has stopped importing the iodate due to unknown reasons and is not supplying it to the refiners, the salt producers said.
“If the iodine shortage continues, there will be a big crisis in producing table salt in the country,” Nurul Kabir, President of the Bangladesh Salt Mill Owners Association (BSMOA), told The New Nation on Saturday.
The country is completely dependent on iodine imports. For this, the BSIC has been importing and supplying iodine under a project since 1989.
“So far we know, the BSIC brought the last shipment of iodine in seven-eight months ago, which is now on the way to
end or has ended. It should have brought new shipment a month or two before the end,” Kabir said.
“Failing to do this, the iodine shortage has created a big crisis in the sector as the salt production has become nearly halt,” he said.
The country has set a target of 23.56 lakh metric tonnes of salt production in the current season. But, only around 9 lakh metric tonnes salt has been produced so far, according to the BSMOA.
It also said the salt production season starts from November to May in the country.
Kamrul Islam, Director (Business) of ACI Salt, said, “The BSIC has not been giving us iodine properly for a month. When we go to the BSIC, some officials said the import is stopped, while others said it is not stopped.”
“It is supplying a small amount of iodine, which lasts for two or three days and the sudden shortage of iodine has fallen us into difficulties to run our factories,” he added.
There are around 300 salt factories in the country. Of them, ACI, Molla Salt, Fresh, Confidence and SA Salt are the well-equipped salt refiner companies in the country.
Maruf Hossain, Executive Director of Confidence Salt, said the BSIC is not giving iodine as per demand as what they said they have no sufficient iodine in their stocks.
Mannan Molla, General Manager of the Molla Salt, said, “The iodine, in our stocks, will be used for about 15 days. The BSIC has already informed us it has no sufficient iodine. So, we have applied for allowing import iodine in alternative way.”
The Parliament passed Iodised Salt Bill-2021 aims at ensuring proportionate use of iodine in salt and regulating the salt market in the country.
