Over 15,000 MT of salt washed away by rain in Puttalam

By Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe

Colombo, May 19 (Daily Mirror) - While the authorities are struggling to cope with a huge salt shortage in the country more than 15,000 metric tons of harvested salt intended for collection have been washed away due to sudden heavy rains, according to salt producers in Puttalam.

They state that the ongoing salt shortage across the country is primarily due to the continuous rainfall and the lack of sufficient sunlight needed for proper salt production.

Puttalam contributes approximately 60% of Sri Lanka’s total salt production. During favourable sunny periods, both private and state-run salt production facilities have managed to yield harvests exceeding 100,000 metric tons.

However, the persistent rainy weather has severely disrupted salt production and brought significant financial hardships to local producers.

A 50kg bag of salt, which was previously priced at Rs. 1,500 at the salt pans, is now being sold for nearly Rs. 7,000. Retail prices have also soared to record highs.

Producers also said that just as Puttalam was experiencing a period of intense sunshine, leading to salt crystals forming and a potential high yield for the upcoming ‘Yala’ season, unexpected rainfall that began on Saturday (17) has once again disrupted production and destroyed the newly forming salt harvest.