Sodium chloride (salt) is one of the largest-volume inorganic raw materials used by the chemical industry. The major chemical downstream products of salt — chlorine/caustic and synthetic soda ash — are in turn used in the manufacture of many chemical products, both inorganic and organic. Large quantities of salt are also used directly for snow and ice control, as a mineral in animal diets, as a food preservative and flavoring agent, as a reagent for water softening and in many industrial processes.
Consumption can vary significantly from one year to another, since demand in one of the largest uses, deicing, is dependent on winter conditions, mostly in the industrialized countries of the Northern Hemisphere. During the forecast period to 2028, salt consumption is expected to grow, driven by increasing demand from the chemical industry, as well as expected increasing demand from industrial, food and feed markets.
Chemical production accounts for around 60% of salt use globally. The second-largest consuming segment (12.6% in 2023) is road salt for deicing. Consumption for deicing can vary substantially from one year to another, depending on climatic conditions. Use in food, including household (table) salt, in bakeries and for preparation and preservation of food, accounts for about 12% of all salt consumption.
Chemical plants may consume salt in the form of brine, rock salt, solar salt or very-high-purity grades of granulatedevaporated salt as a raw material. In many instances, particularly in chlor-alkali production, the grade used can be flexible and the feed salt is purified to the required grade prior to use. The world’s largest brine production operations are typically owned by vertically integrated chlor-alkali producers that captively produce their own salt supply as salt in brine.
Deicing relies primarily on mined rock salt with no purification required. Temperate countries with the largest rock salt production, such as Canada, Germany and the United States, also tend to have large domestic deicing needs. In these countries, rock salt is the most inexpensive, acceptable grade of salt. It is used near its site of production; the transportation expense is minimized and thus rock salt is highly competitive in the deicing market.
Salt is available in most countries of the world, and because of its low price, producers are in most cases restricted to regional markets. However, around 17% of all salt produced and consumed in the world is traded over large distances. The primary exporters are countries with climatic and geographical conditions that allow for reliable low-cost production of solar salt — Australia, India and Mexico — as well as Chile with its low-cost production of open pit rock salt.

Executive summary 6

Summary 7

Introduction 14

Manufacturing processes 15

Environmental issues 17

Supply and demand by region 18

United States 18

      Producing companies 18

      Salient statistics 19

      Consumption 20

      Chemical production 21

      Chlorine/caustic soda 21

      Sodium chlorate 22

      Deicing 22

      Water treatment 22

      General industrial 22

      Agriculture 23

      Food processing 23

      Other 23

      Price 23

      Trade 24

      Imports 24

      Exports 24

Canada 25

      Producing companies 25

      Salient statistics 27

      Consumption 27

      Deicing 28

      Chemical production 28

      Other 28

      Price 28

      Trade 29

      Imports 29

      Exports 30

Mexico 30

      Producing companies 30

      Salient statistics 31

      Consumption 32

      Chemical production 33

      Food processing 33

      Price 33

      Trade 34

      Imports 34

      Exports 35

Caribbean 35

      Producing companies 35

      Salient statistics 36

      Consumption 37

      Trade 38

Central and South America 39

      Producing companies 39

      Salient statistics 41

      Production 42

      Consumption 43

      Price 43

      Trade 44

      Imports 44

      Exports 44

Western Europe 45

      Producing companies 45

      Salient statistics 49

      Production 50

      Consumption 53

      Chemical production 55

      Deicing 55

      Food processing 56

      Other 56

      Price 57

      Trade 57

Central and Eastern Europe 58

      Producing companies 59

      Salient statistics 59

      Consumption 61

      Price 61

      Trade 62

Eurasia 62

      Producing companies 63

      Salient statistics 64

      Consumption 65

      Price 66

      Trade 66

Middle East 67

      Producing companies 67

      Salient statistics 69

      Consumption 70

      Price 71

      Trade 71

Africa 72

      Producing companies 72

      Salient statistics 74

      Consumption 76

      Price 77

      Trade 77

Mainland China 78

      Producing companies 78

      Salient statistics 80

      Consumption 82

      Price 83

      Trade 84

Japan 85

      Producing companies 85

      Salient statistics 86

      Consumption 87

      Chemical production 88

      Chlorine and sodium hydroxide 88

      Sodium carbonate 88

      Sodium chlorate 89

      Food processing 89

      Home use 89

      Other 89

      Price 89

      Trade 90

Other Northeast Asia 91

      Producing companies 91

      Salient statistics 91

      Consumption 93

      South Korea 94

      UNV1 94

      Price 94

      Trade 95

South Asia 96

      Producing companies 96

      Salient statistics 98

      Production 99

      Consumption 100

      Price 101

      Trade 102

Southeast Asia 103

      Producing companies 103

      Salient statistics 105

      Production 106

      Consumption 107

      Price 107

      Trade 108

Oceania 109

      Producing companies 109

      Salient statistics 110

      Production 111

      Consumption 112

      Price 112

      Trade 113

Additional resources 115

Revisions 116

Data Workbook 117

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