Imports of wheat affects salt production!

Business Standard reports

With the heavy import of wheat and fertiliser at the Kandla port, salt manufactures here are suffering a production loss of 8,000 tonnes per day (tpd) due to unavailability of wagons for the transportation of salts.

Hiralal Parakh, president of Kandla Salt Manufacturers Association (KSMA), said, "The salt manufacturers in Kandla are suffering losses due to the diversion of railway wagons for transportation of imported wheat and fertilisers."

He further said that the KSMA does not oppose the import of wheat or fertilisers but the government authorities as well as the Centre must take due steps to safeguard the interest of salt manufacturers in Kandla.

According to Parakh, the association had approached the railway authorities as well as the Centre but no positive steps had been taken by any of them.

"Accumulation of 20 lakh metric tonnes of salt due to unavailability of enough wagons from the Indian Railways, has compelled the salt producers to reduce the production," he adds.

It's interesting to see why wheat imports shot up in the first place. Indiatogether blames US. Do check this, this and this