Raigam to invest Rs 150 m on PVD salt plant

By Lalin Fernandopulle

The import of salt has dropped from around 45,000 metric tonnes to around 7,500 mt during the past six years due to investments in local table salt production by Raigam Wayamba Salterns, said Raigam Group Chairman Dr. Ravi Liyanage.

At present there are no imports of crystal salt or free flow table salt except for Pure Vacuum Dried (PVD) salt. The PVD process uses vacuum evaporation technology which ensures pure sodium chloride free from any impurities and consistent quality, despite the condition of raw salt input, he said.

The company will invest Rs. 150 million this year to expand the PVD salt production facility in Puttalam.

“We hope to manufacture around 10,000 MT of PVD salt a year. A substantial amount of PVD salt is yet being imported for high end markets. Production is inadequate to meet the national need.

The production of PVD salt needs high technology. We have already invested Rs.100 million on the PVD plant,” Dr. Liyanage said.

The country’s salt needs in 2007 was 135,000 metric tons for consumption and 20,000 metric tons for industrial use. Of this quantity imported salt was 45,000 metric tons including 30,000 metric tons in crystal form and the remaining 15,000 metric tons in the free flow table salt form.

The annual demand for salt has gone up annually and in 2013 it was 150,000 metric tons for consumption and 25,000 metric tons for direct industrial use.

“After seeing the market switching from crystal salt to free flow table salt, Raigam Wayamba Salterns invested in free flow table salt plants, first in Palavi, then Puttalam and later in Bata Atha, Tangalle,” Dr. Liyanage said.

The present demand for PVD salt is 10,000 metric tons of which 2,500 metric tons is supplied by Raigam's PVD plant. This is Sri Lanka's only PVD plant which was launched in 2012-13 with an investment of Rs.100 million. The import of the remaining 7,500 metric tons of PVD could be stopped when manufacture begins in the new plant.

Paranthan Chemicals which produced caustic soda and allied products was destroyed by terrorists thereby creating a demand for imported salt allied products such as caustic soda, soda ash, chlorine, bleaching powder and hydrochloric acid which have a high commercial value of over one billion rupees in foreign exchange.

The entire national need of these products are being imported whereas Sri Lanka was self-sufficient in these chemicals 30–35 years ago when Paranthan Chemicals was in operation. The largest consumers of caustic soda are soap and detergent factories, plastic, paint and pharmaceutical industries.

Large quantities of caustic soda are also used in the textile, paper and rubber industries and in the production of synthetic fibres. While chlorine, bleaching powder and soda ash are used in large quantities in water treatment applications.

The per capita consumption of salt in Sri Lanka is around 7.5 kilograms whereas in Europe it is less than 4 kilograms. High salt consumption could lead to heart diseases but according to data such risks could be reduced by 40 percent if the consumption of sodium chloride is reduced by around 20 percent.

This is practised in some countries by replacing about 20% of the salt with potassium chloride. In addition to low sodium salt, dual fortification of salt with iron avoids iron deficiencies and is commercially available in international markets with the support of UNICEF. But in Sri Lanka only iodine is permitted to be included in common salt for consumption purposes, which is a barrier to value added salt.

We have called upon the authorities to introduce 'low sodium salt' and 'dual fortified salt' as our CSR program.

In 2013-14, Raigam Wayamba Saltern Plc recorded a turnover of Rs. 339 million in its first three quarters compared to Rs. 226 million in the corresponding period of 2012-13.