Heaptalk, Jakarta — Through the Ministry of Industry, the Indonesian government will ban salt imports starting in 2025.
“This regulation is outlined in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 126 of 2022 on the Acceleration of National Salt Production. This evaluation is expected to increase the obligation of industries to absorb locally produced salt,” said Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita.
Agus did not elaborate on the reasons for stopping salt imports. “The thing is that the government wants to support local farmers,” he added. However, he acknowledged that one of the main challenges in increasing the absorption of local salt is quality specifications, particularly the NaCl content, which has not yet met the standard of over 97%. The government will work to improve the quality of local salt to meet industrial needs.
“Some industries have specific requirements for the salt they use. We must ensure that the specifications produced by salt farmers can meet industrial needs. This will be a joint focus between the government, farmers, and industries,” Agus emphasized.
Responding to the ban on salt imports, Reni Yanita, the Director General of Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Textile Industries at the Ministry of Industry, said that salt imports for pharmaceutical needs might still be relaxed despite the ban. This is because, even with additional industries, salt production from farmers and cooperatives is still insufficient to meet pharmaceutical demands.
“The pharmaceutical industry is not yet ready to stop imports and replace them with domestically produced salt. This is because changing the source of raw materials requires a lengthy process,” Reni concluded.
