He ruled out the possibility that the pandemic had negatively affected the sector and explained that this could be related to the fact that salt production fields are far away from urban centres.
In statements to Angop, Tottas Garrido pointed out that what is causing more constraints at this time is the fact that there are restrictions on mobility, making it more difficult to flow the product to other areas of the country.
The president of Aprosal explained that the sector has reacted and adapted quite well to this new reality and, therefore, believes that the target imposed for 2020 - to produce 120 thousand tons of salt - is possible to achieve. And he gave the example: the Benguela producers decided to put the workers who lived in the urban centres to live in residences located in the production areas so that the sector continues to function.
"It's been a new experience, but a very good one, because production levels are still the same," he stressed, saying that this solution could make the costs more profitable. "From an economic point of view it becomes less expensive, because the employees coming from urban centres are more demanding and involve other expenses, such as vehicles and fuels, besides other performance benefits", he said.
Tottas Garrido revealed who last year produced 109,000 tonnes of salt, however, falling short of global needs - which are set at 160,000 tonnes per year. However, he said that "the country has enough salt for consumption" and that for now "the great difficulty is related to the special moment that the country is going through, with all its limitations".
In the national market one kilo of salt is being sold at 80 kwanzas, he added.
