Australia, Indonesia's Largest Salt Supplier in 2023

Based on data from the Directorate General of Customs collected by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Indonesia imported 2.80 million tons of salt in 2023, valued at US$135.30 million.

Last year's import volume increased by 1.85% (year-on-year/yoy) compared to 2022, which weighed 2.75 million tons.

In 2023, Australia was the largest supplier of salt to Indonesia, with a volume of 2.16 million tons or 76.85% of total national imports. The value of imports from Australia reached US$106.79 million.

India ranked second, sending 641,030 tons of salt to Indonesia, valued at US$25.03 million.

New Zealand and China followed with import volumes of 1,506.1 tons (US$2.37 million) and 1,028.1 tons (US$319,200), respectively.

Imports of salt from other countries combined reached 328.7 tons, valued at US$89,200.

The government, through the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag), plans to import 2.4 million tons of salt in 2024.

"This year, salt imports are only open for industrial needs as raw materials," said Arif Sulistyo, Director of Imports at the Ministry of Trade, as reported by Kontan on Sunday, March 3, 2024.

According to Arif, these imports are necessary because industrial players require large quantities of salt with specific specifications, including salt with a NaCl content >97%, which cannot yet be fully supplied by domestic producers.