Salt mills are in dire need of iodine during the dry
season. Half of the demand is not being met. As a result, the process of iodine
addition to edible salt is being hampered. The iodine crisis has been raging
for the last few months. Owners of salt mills complain that they are not
getting iodine supply in proportion to demand.
Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC)
imports iodine. Mill owners buy iodine from them. They are in trouble for not
getting iodine. This is because there are restrictions on the sale of edible
salt without the addition of iodine. Meanwhile, mill owners complained that the
crisis was caused by several large salt marketing companies in the country
buying and storing large quantities of iodine at a time, so that small and
medium mills fell into iodine crisis. Local BCIC officials acknowledged the
iodine crisis, saying it was temporary. The crisis will be over soon.
BCIC officials said that the demand for iodine in
the country is around 60 metric tons per year. BCIC imports iodine through
tender process. Iodine is imported from Brazil, China and India several times a
year. At present, only iodine is being imported from India. The annual demand
of edible salt in the country is about 9 lakh metric tons. An analog factory
requires one tonne of iodine in 15 tons of salt. However, one kg of iodine is
required for 19 metric tons of salt refined in a vacuum factory.
According to the concerned, iodine was once provided
free of cost in the mills. At present mill owners buy iodine from BCIC in
proportion to demand. The price of iodine per kg is Tk 3 thousand.
The mill owners said that for the last three months
they have not been getting iodine in proportion to the demand from BCIC. Iodine
deficiency is being reported from there. This is hampering the work of salt
refining. Nurul Kabir, president of the Bangladesh Salt Mill Owners'
Association, told, "We are not getting iodine supply from BCIC in
proportion to the demand. We will write to the Minister of Industries,
Secretary of the Ministry of Industries and Chairman of BCIC regarding the
iodine deficit”.
I will send a letter to the Secretary of the
Ministry of Industries and the Chairman of BCIC. Due to iodine deficiency we
are not able to supply edible salt in proportion to market demand. Now the
season of salt production is in full swing. The owners of the salt mills are in
trouble because of the iodine crisis during the season.
Shamsul Alam Azad, president of the Islampur Salt
Mill Owners' Association in Cox's Bazar, said there was a conspiracy behind the
iodine crisis. There are seven to eight large companies selling packaged edible
salt in the country. Together they bought and stored huge amounts of iodine.
Due to this, small and medium scale mills of the country are in crisis of
iodine. Large companies do not want small and medium-sized mills to sell edible
salt in the market. Asked about the iodine crisis, Sarwar Hossain, DGM (Salt
Cell) of the BCIC head office, said there was no iodine crisis.
Source: Online/SZK
Comment Now