The Pangasinan Salt Center in Barangay Zaragosa, Bolinao town, aims to produce 8,500 metric tons (MT) of salt, up from 7,500 MT in the previous season, for use as agricultural-grade salt fertilizer by coconut farmers.

The increase in salt production is scheduled to begin late November and continue through June 2026.

In a phone interview Wednesday, Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Nestor Batalla said they are still in the preparation stage, which has been slightly delayed due to recent weather disturbances.

He said the provincial government, which has been the interim manager of the salt farm since 2023, has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for an initial order of over 17,500 bags of 50-kilo agricultural-grade salt fertilizer.

“It will be for coconut farmers in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera Administrative Region. Central Luzon might also order 25,000 bags of salt fertilizer, but it is still in the works,” Batalla said.

He added that PCA’s total requirement is 1.5 million bags, which other companies or groups bid on.

“We are hoping that the other winning bidders near our province will also order from us,” he said.

Priced at PHP750 to PHP800 per bag, the PCA’s coconut fertilization project aims to boost coconut productivity by rehabilitating low-bearing palms.

“There are also walk-ins who buy the salt directly at the salt farm; they go to us,” Batalla said, adding that the provincial government is preparing to implement projects specifically aimed at further boosting salt production in the area.

He also noted that Gov. Ramon Guico III, representing the province, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) for the Pilot Saltern Farm on Oct. 27.

“The MOU aims to allow MMSU to conduct research on how to improve salt production using different kinds of technology they learned from India and Indonesia, which they will test here to see if it could be adopted in the country’s climate,” he said.

The Pangasinan Salt Center supports President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s “Philippine Salt Industry Development Act,” which aims to strengthen and revitalize the country’s salt industry. It also directly responds to the President’s call to address the nation’s salt crisis.

Guico said about 93 percent of the country’s salt needs are currently imported from China and Australia.

“We need to drastically reduce our dependency on imported salt and produce 100 percent of our consumption needs. We must even think of becoming a net exporter of salt in the future,” he said. (PNA)