Benguela – With the start-up of three new salt pans and the supply of electricity to Cidade do Sal, in Benguela province, the country may stop importing this product, ANGOP learned.
This statement was made by the Benguela provincial director for Agriculture and Fishing, José Gomes, who said that there were high investment projects in the sector that would lead to an annual production of 350,000 tons of salt, which would stop the country from importing it.
According to the official, who was speaking to ANGOP, there is a strong focus by national business in terms of investments and noted that in 2014 production in Benguela was around 35,000 tons per year and in 2020 levels would rise to 110,000 tons.
Jose Gomes said that the lack of power from the public grid had been the main problem for the salt producers, given the high costs of acquiring fuel for the generators, an issue that may soon be overcome, with the start of operation of the thermal power plant that is being set up in the fishing municipality of Baía Farta.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Association of Salt Producers in Angola, Totas Garrido, said he was concerned about the lack of customers in this pandemic period, and that there were currently 20,000 tons in stock due to a lack of consumption.
According to Garrido, Luanda is the biggest consumer centre and restrictive measures on the movement of people, as well as the weak purchasing power of the population, are affecting the sale of salt inside and outside the country, particularly to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Even so, Totas Garrido made it known that in the first semester of this year 60,000 tons of salt were produced.
Source: Angola Press News Agency