A 74 kg bag is now being sold at Tk 620 against Tk 310 two weeks back, traders at Barisal wholesale market said.

The salt crisis is also affecting ice factories, fish processing and production of animal feed, other sources said.

Processing of hides and skin and cow bone during the Eid will be badly affected if the situation continues, they said.

Over 100 ice factories in the region are facing a setback due to want of salt.

Salt is also used in freezing fish for export. Many processing units are now on the verge of closure due to the crisis, they claimed.

They said around 10,500 kilograms of non-iodised salt, locally known as 'black salt', is needed per day in the region. Most of the supplies come from Cox's Bazar. But the supply is virtually stopped now because of the production season.

M G Kabir, a leader of the Ice Factory Owners Association at Alipur wholesale fish market in Kalapara upazila in Patuakhali said production cost of a factory has increased due to the abnormal increase in salt price.

Many ice factories will face closure if the situation does not improve, he said.

Md. Jafrullah of the Jhalakati Salt Industries Association said price of iodised salt has also increased by Tk 2 to 3 per kilogram due to increase in the price of non-iodised salt.

He said the supply is not expected to be normal in two to three weeks.

The government has allowed import of one lakh tonnes of raw salt, of which only 25,000 tonnes have arrived at Chittagong port. But supplies are yet to reach local markets as distribution has not yet been started.

The imported salt would be distributed among 350 salt factory owners in the country at the rate of Tk 190.83 per tonne, an official source said. The distribution will start when the whole lot will arrive in about two weeks.