"NTB, especially Sumbawa, has extensive land, high production quality potential, and the community and local government are also committed to supporting salt self-sufficiency," the ministry's Director General of Marine Management Koswara noted in a statement here on Wednesday.
Koswara highlighted that the ministry had reviewed potential locations in the province, including Labuhan Bontong Village, Sepayung Village, and Plampang Village in Plampang District, Sumbawa District, as well as Donggobolo Village in Bima District.
The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries is preparing two strategic steps to improve the national industrial salt self-sufficiency program. The first step is to increase community salt production so its quality can meet industrial standards, with a minimum of 97 percent NaCl.
The second step involves building salt industry centers integrated from upstream to downstream in strategic locations.
He explained that Indonesia currently faces an annual shortfall of nearly 600 thousand tons of salt for the food industry and 2.3 million tons for the chemical industry (Chlor Alkali Plants).
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To address this gap, Koswara stated that his ministry aims to develop national salt production centers on at least one thousand hectares of land.
The acceleration of the national salt program is driven by Presidential Regulation Number 17 of 2025, which stipulates a gradual ban on salt imports for several industrial sectors. Imports of salt for food will be prohibited starting in 2025, followed by a ban on industrial salt imports in 2027.
Meanwhile, Sumbawa District Head Syarafuddin Jarot emphasized the district's readiness to serve as a model for national salt self-sufficiency.
Earlier, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono also highlighted his commitment to fully supporting the achievement of salt self-sufficiency by 2027.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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