Global trade rock salt and Iran’s position in the field of exports

Global trade rock salt and Iran’s position in the field of exports is an issue that Halito rock salt company  as the largest supplier of salt ore in Iran has addressed for the first time.

Do you know where the most important salt rock production centers in the world are? Which countries are the largest importers and exporters of salt in the world? What is the export potential of Iranian salt rock? Follow us to check all these cases.

When did humans first use salt?

According to historical documents, the Chinese first used salt in 6,000 BC, and it is interesting to know that salt was used to cook fish and flavor vegetables.

Shortly afterwards, the Egyptians used salt for their food, and in fact the discovery and use of salt occurred for the first time in the Orient.

There are many different salts on the planet, but one that satisfies our cravings is the salt that contains the NACL compound that is essential for our survival.

It is interesting to know that if we want to imagine the human body without salt, it is practically impossible. Even our hearts will not be able to beat because nerve pulses are needed to transmit commands to the brain and blood to sodium, so salt and water are substances that survive. They make human beings possible.

Ever since mankind learned that hunting can provide the food they need, he has known that he must store the amount left over for the next few days, and when he became acquainted with salt and its magical power to eliminate edible health, salt has been around ever since. It was a treasure for primitive man, which is why salt was so valuable that our ancestors even exchanged it for gold.

Early humans received the necessary amount of salt from nature by consuming automotive foods in nature, such as animals that know how much salt they should receive by licking rock salt, but in the present period when almost all foods are farmed or industrial and We are directly disconnected from nature and after the food is processed we receive the need for supplemental salt and what salt is suitable to eat and in what area should be consumed is the basis of the story of the salt and salt trade in the world. It is current.

How was the salt trade in the past?

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, working in salt mines was a form of torture because the dust from the crushing and separation of salt ore suffocated workers because production had to be increased and there was no suitable means of harvesting. Mining workers or people sentenced to death had almost no hope of surviving after working in the mine.

But today, humans have the least contact with salt and the machine does all the work, and practically an excavator is used for separation and extraction after the explosion, so there is no risk to life for the miners.

As difficult as it was to have salt in the past and to obtain it, to have it was to have power and superiority, for example in Africa up to 300 years ago due to the above and the problems of salt extraction and extraction, little. The resulting salt was transported with the utmost care to present-day Niger and Senegal, where it was exchanged for gold, iron and copper and then transported to other areas.

Regarding granular rock salts or granular salts, if it is for refined and edible purposes, there is not much market for us internationally, because edible salts are exchanged regionally and due to the high cost of transportation, as mentioned before. Every country tries to buy table salt from the nearest place, and in addition to the fact that colored packaged salts have gained a lot of fans and the tendency to buy them is very high, so the best market for table salt is exported to the countries of the region because There is a wide market around our country, Iran, and on the other hand, it is accessible and accessible. Having land and sea borders makes this easier and more economical for us.

There are usually two main problems with exporting table salt to countries in the region:

1. Different quality of exported salts
2. Improper packaging, especially at low weights

By solving these two problems, we can expect the export of at least 3 times as many Iranian products due to the very reasonable price.

But in the field of crushed granulated unrefined or industrial salt rock, we can expect a very good market, because our competitor is in the region of Pakistan, which has a lot of problems in terms of supply in large volumes, and from The predominant side of the salt obtained in this country is of the color type, which has a much higher price and is not very suitable for consumption in industry, but our industrial or refined salt not only has no problem in supplying it, but can be in large quantities. It could easily supply up to 2 million tons per year, which, of course, requires government support, and the private sector alone is not enough.

But our turning point and capability in the field of salt ore exports is that we can easily be not only the main exporter and supplier in the region, but also a very large supplier for Asian countries, Eastern Europe and North Africa.

The diversity of salt rock in Iran and the existence of salt mines in different parts of our country Iran proves this hypothesis, but we need some basic prerequisites:

1. Existence of advanced machines for extraction and packaging of rock salt in all mines that are active
2. Solve the transportation problem because the transfer price will have a huge impact on the cost price and in the current situation where most of this is done by truck it is not very economical
3. Appropriate marketing at the destination and sale of rock salt in batches of tens of thousands of tons and transportation by bulk ship to reduce shipping rates

By observing the above issues, we can have a lot to say in this area.

Iran’s rock salt export potential

According to our country’s estimates, Iran has over 10 billion tons of rock salt mines, which are scattered throughout the country, and in terms of Iran’s geographical location, we see the presence of salt mines in many cities.

The annual extraction of rock salt from Iran’s mines reaches more than 2.5 million tons, almost all of which is consumed inside Iran, and a small part of which may be less than 100,000 tons, which needs further investigation.

In the world rankings, Iran ranks lower than 20, and the largest buyers of Iranian rock salt are in fact our neighboring countries, and proper marketing has not been done for remote areas.

A closer look at neighboring ours, Pakistan realize that or policy-wise it could all markets across Europe in the field of edible salt and rock salt for the bricks of salt largely focused on Pakistani products and two recent cases almost all The market is in the hands of this country!

Of course, in the meantime, some cases should not be neglected, for example, decorative salt stone or the same salt lamp around the world, it is known as hymalian salt lamp, which is exported from Pakistan to all over the world, while this is not the case at all. Only its salt rock belongs to Pakistan and its main trade is in the hands of China, which was able to buy Pakistan salt rock to send salt lamps to all over the world!

In terms of packaging and extraction, Pakistan is far behind us and even in the field of workshop electricity supply, they face many problems, and while, thank God, we do not have such problems in our country, but the superiority of Pakistan salt rock Due to its presence in the international market, it has given them a higher position sooner and better than us!

It should not be mentioned that there are first-rate artists in our country, Iran, whose handicrafts can astonish any eye, and the Halito rock salt collection, by using these powerful artists, produces wonderful products in the field of producing decorative salt rock for export. Has created, but due to the lack of familiarity of other countries with our products in Iran, the necessary place has not been provided for Iranian decorative salt rock products!

Another challenge that needs to be carefully considered is the amount of production, extraction and export. If we have a brief look at the producing and exporting countries, we see that more than 115 countries in the world with salt mines are among the producers of rock salt. And they are salt, but more than 70% of the market is held by only 7 countries that have been able to be unique in creating the necessary infrastructure in this field.

If we take a closer look at this issue, we must say that in the field of export of table salt, one should never look to distant markets and stare because salt is a cheap commodity and does not bear the exorbitant costs for transportation and payment by buyers at the destination, so any country It tends to buy salt from the nearest source, but the story of salt is not just about food consumption, so we see that a small country like Japan is one of the largest importers of industrial salt in the world due to its many industries!

The highest consumption of industrial salt in the field:

• Production of chemicals
• Agriculture
• Food Production
• Food processing
• Road salt spraying

In the non-food industry, sea salt is mainly used, and in the field of food industry and food preservation, mineral salt is necessarily used because sea salt does not have the necessary ability to prevent food spoilage in the long run. Like China, India and the United States, which are the largest exporters and producers of salt in the world, they are also the largest importers of rock salt!

If we talk about the potential of Iran in the export of rock salt in a case-by-case manner, for example, China needs 70 million tons of salt per year for its various industries, of which about 60 million tons can be supplied inside China, but The rest of the deficit has to be imported, which supplies about 2 to 5 million tons from India, but India’s salt, because it is marine, contains a lot of impurities and its refining cost is several times the price of salt, so China It is looking for an alternative to its salt shortage, which is being compensated by Australia and to some extent by Pakistan with exports of less than 500,000 tons, but the interesting point is that Pakistan, despite having many rock salt mines along the mountain range Himalayas due to lack of advanced mining equipment in the field of selling rock salt in the form of lumps is not very capable, but our country Iran has the capacityIt can easily ship up to 4 million tons of rock salt to China annually, but the biggest problem is the issue of transportation, which due to its high price and China’s proximity to Australia, has not been possible so far. Eliminate transportation in such a way that it will affect the job creation and growth of Iran’s salt ore trade to such an extent that we must boldly activate salt mines in all cities of Iran in order to be able to meet the needs of China!

With the expansion of industries in different countries, naturally their need to import mineral salt will increase, in this regard, suggestions for a better presence of Iran in global markets and international trade in salt and rock salt have been presented:

• Introducing Iranian salt rock to different countries through our country’s embassies around the world
• Estimating the needs of different countries for mineral salt in the field of food industry
• Solve the problem of domestic and international transportation (almost all domestic transportation of salt rock is done by trucks, which imposes high costs and is also the use of rail lines, and in the field of international transportation, the container should be abandoned and Bulk vessels, the latter of which requires extensive international marketing)
• Due to the oppressive sanctions against our country and the problem in international exchanges, by identifying the target market, we can import many goods and instead supply the industrial and edible salt required by the destination country.
• Facilitate the export of decorative rock salt and introduce it through our country’s cultural centers to different parts of the world (keep in mind that each decorative rock salt workshop will create employment for at least 10 people)

Iran’s ranking in salt exports

In the world trade of rock salt, no country can be unique because this product has a very low price and freight will cause a sharp fluctuation in the cost price for the buyer at the destination, so each country can take the countries around it or a little further away. It is practically impossible to cover itself, but in processed products that have added value and are made of rock salt, this is not the case, the most famous of which are decorative salt bricks and rock salt, the Himalayan example of which is above. It is famous in the world

For example, in South America, Chile has a rock and salt trade market, and in North America, Canada has been able to have this important. Also in Africa, Egypt and Europe, the Netherlands are the largest exporters and suppliers of salt.

Iran is a very large country with abundant reserves in the field of salt and rock salt. This salty taste is natural and almost most salt mines are of relatively good quality and can be calculated as food grade, although the difference in purity is usually 5% or more. It also indicates the diversity of salt rock and underground mines.

In terms of having rich salt resources, Iran is one of the top 5 countries in the world, but in the field of extraction and export, a position between twenty to thirty may be imagined for our country, which is confirmed by global statistics.

Consider a country like the Netherlands with salt mines, while in terms of potential is not at all the size of Iran, but has been able to export salt even to our neighboring countries such as the UAE, the most important thing is to observe beautiful packaging and export. Unfortunately, we are not only lagging behind, but we are not very interested in entering this field.

In today’s business, table salt is not a very lucrative business because most of the salt is consumed in the non-food sector and we can produce food industries that need to use crushed mineral rock salt or granulated salt (granules). ) Are to supply.

Usually in winter, due to the flooding of most mines, the possibility of supply and export is greatly reduced because there are not enough equipment to draw water and reactivate, and this makes the trade of this product in Iran seasonal. It is not at all suitable for a country with this great potential!

To this end, Pakistan has invested heavily in rock salt bedside lamps and saltstone lampshades, and in fairness has a wide international market, and a country like the Netherlands to continue to export salt rock by installing rails and rollers as soon as possible. Extraction crushes salt rock, which not only speeds up the work process, but also causes a lot of price drop and extraction continuity in every season, a path that we can also follow.

Australia, with an annual production of 12 million tons of sea and solar quality salt, is practically a major supplier to the Chinese and Japanese markets, and at a very reasonable price, it delivers this product to China, which annually produces about 60 to 70 million tons of industrial salt. And only import this product to eliminate the shortage.

But the hopeful point is that China, Australia and India, which are in a closer radius to the sea distance, are not able to supply quality rock salt, and while the food industry needs this granular product, but unfortunately the annual production of this product In Iran, it is so small that it is practically not a figure in comparison with the deficit of the Chinese market, and this shows that the need for a new look in this sector and getting help from activists in this field is felt more than before, because employment It will lead to abundant fertility.

The largest rock salt mines in the world

There are many rock salt mines in the world, but some of them are so large that the amount of extraction of that mine alone can provide not only a country but also the sale of a continent. Has been.

1. Sifto Mine in Canada

The mine was first commissioned in 1959 AD, and the extraction rate is so high that all North American countries get their salt from the mine, but the point is about the Sifto ore in Ontario. It has a very low quality and is only suitable for salt spraying on the road and can be used in some non-food industries at best.

2. Khora mine in Pakistan

This mine is one of the most famous salt mines in the world and is located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The quality of the salt rock is edible and the color of the rock salt is red and pink and it is able to supply 325,000 tons of rock salt per year.

3. Prahwa salt mine in Romania

This mine is the largest salt rock mine in Europe, but it has been closed for a long time and is ready to attract tourists and tourists. On the other hand, it offers special services for people who want to treat salt in a natural environment.

 

4. Atacama Mine in Chile

This mine is an open type and is completely flat and meets all the needs of the South American region.

 

5. The Wilzka mine in Poland

This mine has been known as a supplier of gray salt in Europe for more than 700 years, but in 1996, its activity was stopped and handed over to the tourism sector, and now the most active salt mine in the field of tourism with the most attractive services may be services. The salt bath of this mine is famous in Europe.

 

6. Maras salt mine in Peru

This mine is the result of sedimentary accumulations of groundwater springs and it is very difficult to extract salt from it and the salt that is obtained from it is sometimes pink. The origin of this salt mine dates back to the Inca period.

 

7. Asse salt mine in Germany

Due to its long history and great length and width, this salt mine has always been one of the famous salt mines in the heart of Europe, but since 1967, this mine has been closed and has become a place for storing radioactive waste.

8. Columbia Salt Cathedral

The mine has been in operation since the 5th century AD and was active until 1950, but then became a church and is so large that 10,000 people can enter at a time.

The largest salt exporters in the world in 2019

Row	country name	Production rate (million tons)
1	China	60
2	America	42
3	India	30
4	Germany	14
5	Australia	13
6	Canada	12
7	Chile	9
8	Mexico	9
9	Brazil	7.6
10	Netherlands	7
11	Russia	7
12	Turkey	6.6
13	France	5.7
14	Austria	4.9
15	Poland	4.5
16	Pakistan	4.5
17	Spain	4.3
18	United Kingdom	4.1
19	Italy	4.1

The largest importers of salt in the world

Row	Country	Import rate (million dollars)
1	America	570
2	Germany	206
3	China	189
4	Japan	162
5	Belgium	157
6	Canada	148
7	France	107
8	South Korea	105
9	Russia	93
10	United Kingdom	87
11	Norway	78
12	Sweden	60
13	Taiwan	57
14	Italy	56
15	Netherlands	52
16	Czech	49
17	Ireland	41
18	Hungary	40
19	Poland	39

Introducing different types of Iranian rock salt for export

In the end, it is not bad to mention the rock salts that can be exploited from different mines in Iran and in our cities and provinces, looking at its target market abroad, as well as the Halito salt rock complex as the largest producer and supplier of rock. Salt in Iran is ready to supply various types of export rock salt with up-to-date packaging suitable for the market of the destination country.

White salt stone, orange salt stone, red salt stone, blue salt stone, decorative salt stone, salt brick, animal salt stone and all kinds of granulated salt are the products that Halito salt stone collection can easily supply, export and deliver in the destination country. It has every tonnage.

Product Name	Supplier countries	Export target market	Annual supply (in tons)
High quality white rock salt	Iran	Russia-Iraq-Germany-UAE	12000
Ice white rock salt for cutting	Iran-Pakistan	Turkey	60000
Ordinary white rock salt	Iran-Russia	It has internal consumption	200000
Red salt rock	Iran-Pakistan	Turkey-Iraq-India-China	40000
Orange salt rock	Iran-Pakistan	India-Turkey	30000
Blue salt rock	Iran	Western Europe-North America	12
Crystalline rock salt	Iran-Pakistan	Turkey-Iraq-Russia	3
Decorative rock salt	Iran-Pakistan	all countries	unlimited
Salt bricks	Iran-Pakistan	all countries	unlimited

Contact us to order the purchase of various types of export rock salt in each tonnage and delivery in the destination country.

Source: Halito rock salt company