The first deliveries of salt from China arrived on Tuesday at Sihanoukville port after an agreement for a 30,000-tonne import was inked last month, said Bun Baraing, the co-president of the Salt Producers Community of Kampot-Kep (SPCKK).

Baraing told The Post on Tuesday that 5,000 tonnes out of the total amount arrived at the port and the SPCKK is preparing logistics to receive the remaining amount.

“Before all [5,000 tonnes] of salt is released from the stock, the next delivery will come,” Baraing said.

The price of the imported salt is $90, and after logistics costs, the price will be over $100 per tonne. Due to a drop in salt production due to rain, the price of salt rose to $75 per tonne this year from $52 last year.

“Salt imports are much more expensive than our salt. But, we have no choice. We need to import in order to meet local consumption,” he said.

This is the second time the Kingdom has imported salt after previously spending $2.2 million in 2009 to import 20,000 tonnes of it from China.