천일염산업의 현황과 정책과제

Abstract

천일염은 1963년 염관리법이 제정된 이후 45년간 법적으로 광물로 분류되어오다가 2007년 11월에 염관리법이 개정되면서 식품의 지위를 부여받았다. 천일염 관리업무도 2009년 3월에 지식경제부에서 농림수산식품부로 이관되어 고부가가치 식품산업으로 발전할 수 있는 토대가 마련되었다. 그동안 국내산 천일염은 외국산에 비해 우수한 성분을 함유했음에도 불구하고 적절한 평가를 받지 못했다. 최고의 품질을 보유한 프랑스 게랑드산보다 염화나트륨 함량이 낮고 풍부한 미네랄을 함유하고 있지만, 시중에서는 50배정도의 가격차이가 있는 것으로 파악되고 있다. 천일염 산업을 육성하기 위해서는 생산·유통·수입 등 각 부문에 산재해 있는 제반 문제점을 파악하고 해결방안을 모색하여야 한다. 그러나 천일염산업을 구성하는 각 부문의 현황이 체계적으로 파악되지 못하고 있다. 이는 천일염산업 육성을 위한 적합한 추진체계를 구축하는 데 큰 장애로 작용하고 있다. 본 연구는 천일염산업의 발전을 위해 각 부문에서 문제점을 파악·분석하고 해결방안을 제시한다.

The salt in Korea has been treated as a mineral for the past 45 years since the Salt Management Law was enacted in 1963. The Salt Management Law was revised in November 2007 and it reclassified sea salt as food. The affairs related to sea salt were transferred from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in March 2009 for consistent and effective policy implementation. Domestic sea salt has been less popular compared to imported sea salt in spite of containing more minerals such as K, Ca, and Mg. The Korean government recognizes the sea salt industry as a value-added industry, and has a plan to develop the industry. However, there exist many problems related with the production, distribution, and importation sectors of the sea salt industry. An objective of this study is to investigate several problems in those sectors and present solutions for the development of the industry. The amount of sea salt produced in 2008 was 384,304 tons, and Chonnam province is the largest producer of sea salt, holding an 80% share of total production area. Prices of domestic sea salt are relatively high compared to imported sea salt. The market share of domestic sea salt in the domestic salt market is about 10%, and Japan was the biggest importer of Korean sea salt in 2009. One of the major problems of the sea salt industry is that the institutional mechanism for promoting the growth of the industry is not well established. In the production sector, many problems impede the development of the sea salt industry: small business size of producers, high rental rate, lack of labor force, high labor cost, and poor infrastructure. It should be noted that there are other major obstacles to overcome: complicated distribution channels, sales of fake sea salt, and poor distribution facilities. To develop the sea salt industry, related laws need to be revised and a hygiene management system should be established. Setting up of plans to foster successors and introduction of an integrated management system are key factors for the development of the sea salt industry. Lastly, it is necessary that the Korea Salt Management Association, which was established in 1967, achieves the transparency of management and obtains the confidence of its members.

Researchers: Han Jae-Hwan and Choi Byung-Ok Research period: 2010. 4. - 2010. 6. E-mail address: jhhan@krei.re.kr