Salt: Criticality

Unlimited supply, yet hardly any substitutes

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

Exposure by region

Region	Exposure	Share of world output	Share of world imports	Share of world exports	Net trade (US$)	On own critical list	Position
US	Medium	14.9%	13.6%	7.8%	−$353.4 m	No	Second-largest producer (40 Mt) but imported a net 31% of 2025 consumption, mainly from Mexico, Chile and Canada (USGS 2026).
EU	Medium	14.3%	31.9%	40.4%	−$128.5 m	No	Germany (15 Mt), France, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands produce salt, and chemical demand is falling as chlor-alkali plants close; salt is not on the EU critical list (USGS 2026).
India	Low	12.9%	0.5%	13.7%	+$409.5 m	No	Third-largest producer (30 Mt in 2025, USGS) and largest exporter by volume (17.3 Mt in 2024, BRS), with Gujarat making about 85% of output (IBM 2022).
China	Medium	20.5%	13.7%	3.9%	−$477.4 m	No	Largest producer (56 Mt) and largest importer by value (13.7% in 2024), buying more than 10 Mt from India in 2024 (USGS; Comtrade; BRS).
Japan	High	0.3%	7.7%	0.0%	−$339.4 m	No	Imports most of its industrial salt (7.7% of world import value in 2024), increasingly from India (Comtrade; BRS).
Latin America	Low	10.0%	2.4%	6.6%	+$100.9 m	no list	Mexico (7 Mt), Brazil (6.6 Mt) and Chile (9 Mt) produce salt, with Mexico and Chile major suppliers to the US (USGS 2026).
Middle East	Low	2.7%	0.7%	1.7%	+$23.6 m	no list	Iran (4.2 Mt) and Saudi Arabia (2.4 Mt) produce salt, and Qatar imported 0.65 Mt of Indian salt in 2021-22 (USGS 2026; IBM 2022).
Australia	Low	4.7%	0.6%	0.0%	−$27.5 m	No	Produces 12 Mt of mostly solar salt and had about 19% of world salt trade in 2024, second to India (USGS 2026; BRS).

Exposure rating: High when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); Medium for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; Low for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: World Mining Data, 2024. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Salt is not on the EU, US 2025 or India 2023 critical lists. Supply is widespread and the resource unlimited. Yet for most uses there are no economic substitutes. Calcium chloride, potassium chloride and calcium magnesium acetate work for deicing but cost more. Salt was once the most political of commodities. Conway traces China's salt monopoly back to the seventh century BC, and wartime blockades targeted saltworks. Today the risk is local and seasonal, mainly winter road supply.

EU 2023 Not assessed US 2025 list No India 2023 list No Production HHI 938 unconcentrated US net import reliance, 2025 31% share of apparent consumption

Substitutes

Calcium chloride, calcium magnesium acetate, hydrochloric acid and potassium chloride in some uses, at higher cost