Indonesia still depends heavily on industrial salt imports despite its goal of achieving salt self-sufficiency by 2027, as local production has not yet met the purity standards required by industries, Qazinform News Agency cites VNA. According to Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the country imported about 936,000 tonnes of industrial salt with at least 97% sodium chloride in the first five months of 2026, up 13.1% year over year.
Experts said domestic salt production is sufficient for household consumption but does not meet the quality standards required by industries such as chlor-alkali, food processing, and pharmaceuticals. Nailul Huda, Economic Director at the Centre of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), noted that a lack of transparent data makes it difficult to determine whether higher imports reflect rising industrial demand or business stockpiling.
Nailul stated that imports should therefore be carefully scheduled to avoid coinciding with the local harvest season and depressing prices for domestic producers. Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts an extended dry season in 2026 due to El Niño, which could increase domestic salt output.
However, imports during the harvest period could lower local prices and reduce producers' incomes. Economists stated that Indonesia needs greater transparency in supply and demand, better-managed import policies, and stronger support to improve the quality of domestic salt if it is to meet its self-sufficiency target by 2027.
Qazinform News Agency previously reported that Kazakh Foreign Minister Yermek Kosherbayev met with Indonesia’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Anis Matta, who arrived in Kazakhstan for a working visit.