NO SHORTAGE. Negros Oriental has an ample supply of iodized and rock salt amid a perceived supply shortage in other parts of the country. The provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry said Tuesday (Aug. 30, 2022) the prevailing prices are even lower than the suggested retail price. (PNA file photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Amid reports of a perceived salt shortage in the country, the provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Tuesday there is an ample supply of the condiment in Negros Oriental and its prices are even lower than the suggested retail price (SRP).
“As of the August 26 monitoring report of our office, the prices of iodized refined salt in groceries, supermarkets, and similar outlets are much lower than (the) SRP, while prices of rock salt being sold in the local markets have not gone up,” DTI-Negros Oriental director Nimfa Virtucio said in an interview.
The SRP for iodized refined salt is pegged at PHP11.75 per 250 grams, but the current prices in the local markets here range from PHP7.35 to PHP8.25, Virtucio said.
For rock salt, which is within the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, she said the counterpart monitoring personnel also reassured of enough supply with “normal prices” prevailing, although no specific figures were given.
There is enough supply of salt in the province and the DTI has not received any report of shortage whatsoever, she added.
VIrtucio said she was surprised by the news that the country is facing a shortage of salt.
“This might create public panic, sellers will jack up their prices, and there could possibly be hoarding,” she said in mixed English and Cebuano.
To avoid these scenarios, Virtucio said the public would have to be constantly assured that there is enough salt supply in Negros Oriental.
The province has salt producers, such as those in Manjuyod town, who are constantly supplying the local markets, she noted.
The local DTI office will continue its monitoring of salt in Negros Oriental in case the perceived shortage in other areas of the country would “cascade” here, Virtucio said. (PNA)
