AHMEDABAD: A dedicated jetty for salt exports, proposed to come up in Gujarat, will take shape in the next two years. The proposed jetty will help the Indian salt exporters in providing quicker shipments to countries like Japan, Indonesia and South Korea, which are part of the lucrative 18-20 million tonne salt market in the Asia Pacific region. The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has surveyed the region around the Navlakhi port in the Gulf of Kutch.

“We currently produce about 20 million tonne of salt annually. Of this, about 2 million tonne is being exported. However, in the next five years, the exports are expected to grow to about 5-6 million tonne annually. In order to cater to the increasing need of exporters, a dedicated jetty will be developed in Gujarat,” said MA Ansari, deputy salt commissioner, Salt Commissioner Organisation.

India is the third-largest salt producing country in the world (after the US and China). Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan produces salt, surplus to their requirement. While Gujarat leads by constituting 70% of the country’s total production, the share of Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan is 15% and 12% respectively.

Private sector plays a dominant role in salt production, contributing over 95%, while the public sector contributes about 2-3%.

“In the last few years, a lot of chlor-alkali, PVC, soda ash and caustic soda manufacturing industries have sprung up in the Asia-Pacific region. The salt market in this region is about 18-20 million tonne which the exporters in India can take advantage of.

With a dedicated jetty in place, the turnaround time for ships can be reduced considerably. Time is very important as salt is a low-value product,” Mr Ansari told ET on the sidelines of the recently concluded India-International Salt Summit organised by India Salt Manufacturers Association (ISMA) in Ahmedabad. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Indonesia are some of the largest salt importers in Asia.

“This jetty is expected to be ready in the next two years. GMB has conducted a survey of the region around Navlakhi port (located near the Little Rann of Kutch),” he said adding the proposed jetty could come up in the notified area of Navlakhi port. The Little Rann of Kutch accounts for almost 40% of Gujarat’s total production. “With a dedicated jetty, salt exporters will be able to increase shipments to countries like Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia,” he added.

Speaking at the summit, the chairman of KPT, P D Vaghela also evinced interest in setting up a “captive jetty” for salt exports at Kandla port. “We are ready to have a captive jetty for salt exports at Kandla,” Mr Vaghela said. Currently, 60% of the country’s salt exports is handled by the Kandla Port.