Salt-making in Bac Lieu has a tradition of hundreds of years. Producing salt grains may seem simple, but it’s a painstaking, laborious process involving the sweat and tears of salt farmers.

Since ancient times, the salt production profession in Bac Lieu has been famous as "triple-tied salt" and has helped many major landlords become extremely rich from salt grains such as: Hoi Dong Trach, landlord Huynh Quai... The salt farmers who work hard and toil in the scorching salt fields are all tenant farmers.

After the country was unified, salt farmers owned the salt fields but the output of salt grains was always unstable. In the 1980s and 1990s, people had to carry salt boats up and down the canals from the countryside to the city to sell to each house. The street cry 'Salt for sale…!' became a familiar sound in the memories of generations raised in Bac Lieu during that time.

For unknown reasons, people have long referred to the deceased with the phrase 'gone to sell salt', perhaps because death means going far away. The ancients called it going through a painful salty area. It is also possible that the phrase "going to sell salt" appeared during the French period, because at that time the French colonists occupied our country and set many laws to govern the people, including the law that salt could not be produced, in order to monopolize the production and sale of salt. If they discovered any people producing and selling salt that was not produced by them, they would immediately be executed.

Unlike the pure white salt of Central Vietnam, Bac Lieu’s salt carries the unique essence of alluvial sea water. It is because of this natural characteristic that Bac Lieu salt is pinkish-white, dry, firm, and free of any odor — truly one of a kind.. After more than 100 years of development, the salt making profession in Bac Lieu has fully retained the characteristics of a traditional craft. There are many households with three or more generations making salt, some even have a sixth generation of the profession.

Currently, Bac Lieu salt is exported to Cambodia to salt fish, make fish sauce, and dry it. It is also the only Vietnamese salt exported to Japan, because of its superior quality compared to other types of salt, which is salty but not bitter. In addition, South Korea also selects salt from Bac Lieu — hometown of the Bac Lieu Prince — to season its traditional kimchi, one of the famous traditional dishes of this country.