By 1893, the French government had sold to Mr. Chefneux the right to refine and export salt from Lake Assal. Chefneux agreed to pay into the colonial office the sum of $10,000 a year, and if, during the fifty years that he was to have the exclusive right to export salt from Lake Assal, the annual product exceeded 50,000 tonnes, he was to pay a tax of 20 cents for every tonne in excess. The government also designated a part of the lake where the local people could procure all the salt they wanted without tax or hindrance.