Soda ash: Production
Natural versus synthetic: who makes the world's soda ash
Natural versus synthetic: who makes the world's soda ash What this tab covers Who produces it and how much: world output over recent years, the top producing countries with their shares, USGS world figures for 2024 and 2025, and the largest producing companies globally and in India.USGS puts world output at 70.6 Mt in 2024 and 71 Mt in 2025, about 52 Mt of it synthetic. China led with an estimated 38 Mt in 2025, mostly synthetic. The United States (12 Mt, all natural) and Turkey (6 Mt, mostly natural) follow. These three made about 80% of the world total. That three-country share points to high concentration. China added about 5 Mt a year of natural capacity in Inner Mongolia in mid-2023. Four Wyoming companies and one in California run US output.
USGS estimate
World, 2024 70,600 thousand metric tons, sodium carbonate (natural and synthetic) World, 2025e 71,000 thousand metric tons, sodium carbonate (natural and synthetic)Largest producers by company, global
- WE Soda: 6,000 kt (Turkey national output, mostly WE Soda and Sisecam) (2025)
- Tata Chemicals: 3.29 Mt/yr total soda ash capacity (FY2023) (FY2023)
- Inner Mongolia natural soda ash (Alxa, Boyuan/Yuanxing): 5,000 kt/yr capacity added mid-2023 (2023)
- Chinese synthetic soda ash producers: 38,000 kt (China national output, mostly synthetic) (2025)
Largest producers by company, India
- Tata Chemicals (Mithapur, Gujarat): 1 Mt soda ash produced (FY2026)
- GHCL (Sutrapada, Gujarat): 1.2 Mt/yr capacity at 98% utilisation; about 26% of Indian market (2025)