In Kyrgystan, GAIN’s Premix Facility is helping salt producers to manage the costs of iodization.
“Before we worked with GAIN, our salt producers had to pay for potassium iodate up front and it was also a lot in taxes. Cash flow for the business was difficult. Through the GAIN Premix Facility, we can buy potassium iodate on credit and the price competes with informally imported and lower quality potassium iodate. We can pass on the lower costs to our customers and people who need iodized salt in Kyrgyzstan,” according to Baktygul Djangazieva’s Kyrgyz Association of Salt Producers (KASP).
The GAIN premix facility was set up in 2009 to help food fortification projects by establishing an easier, more cost effective way of procuring high quality vitamin and mineral premix competitively.
Micronutrient premix is a complicated commodity. Price and quality can vary tremendously, and quality verification requires sophisticated equipment and expertise. Customers in developing countries face a number of barriers when procuring premix, including access to reliable suppliers, variable prices, quality control and lack of upfront capital for large purchases.
With an established suppliers base of 31 premix blenders, 16 micronutrient suppliers and six micronutrient powder producers, the GAIN premix facility offers services to industries, international organizations such as the World Food Programme, and governments to continue to turn this audited suppliers list as the standard for quality premix.
GAIN’s salt iodization work is recommended by GiveWell and The Life You Can Save. It protects against the most common cause of preventable brain damage, improving the health of millions of children around the world and helping them reach their full potential.
