Bangladesh’s salt farmers have abandoned their coastal fields as the monsoon arrives, closing a 2025-26 season that fell far short of its target. Across 194 sporadic working days from November to the last week of May, they harvested nearly 1.95 million tonnes of salt — roughly 770,000 tonnes below the government goal.
The season began on November 12 last year with the first production on Kutubdia island, according to the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC). Adverse weather then kept farmers off the fields for 36 days. Total output reached 1,944,926 tonnes against a target of 2.71 million tonnes. Some 40,150 farmers cultivated 67,757 acres, achieving an average yield of 28.70 tonnes per acre.
Rain arrived on May 24, with Cox’s Bazar recording 10 to 39 mm of rainfall across different areas, and a further 7 to 15 mm the next day. The farmers halted work, stored the harvested salt using traditional methods, and breached embankments to let tidal water flood the plots. Their contracts with shrimp-farming landowners had expired, and the fields had to be readied for shrimp cultivation.
“The salt production season ended on May 25,” said Md Zafar Iqbal Bhuiyan, deputy general manager of BSCIC’s Salt Industry Development Office in Cox’s Bazar. “Output was hampered by early fog at the start and then unseasonal rainfall this year. Rain in Cox’s Bazar on May 24 and 25 ruined the fields.” Production fell below target, he added, because farmers left the plots to prepare for shrimp.
In the second half of last year the government authorised imports of about 100,000 tonnes of salt after domestic output fell short of demand. No one applied by the deadline. The government extended it several times. Traders and millers remained uninterested, and the import drive collapsed.
Prices are climbing steadily as production trails demand by a wide margin. Ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, the price per maund (37.32 kg) jumped BDT 60–70. Mill owners and traders warn of sharper rises if supply again misses the target.
BSCIC again distributed free salt to orphanages, madrasahs and mosque committees during Eid-ul-Adha, as it did in 2025. This year it handed out 11,000 tonnes, down from 14,000 tonnes the previous year — a cut forced by higher prices. The scheme addresses chronic waste: sacrificial hides donated to charities routinely rot for lack of proper curing. BSCIC expects the free salt to sharply lift hide collections through those institutions.
Sarwar Hossain, who heads BSCIC’s salt cell, said domestic production had met demand for several years, with the 2024–25 season delivering a 64-year record. Although acreage and farmer numbers both rose this year, weather kept output below target. “If supply fails to match demand, the government will consider measures to stabilise the salt market,” he said.