Importers Must Absorb Local Salt That Meets Standards

The government is being urged to ensure that any salt import policy includes an obligation to absorb locally produced salt that meets quality standards. This requirement is considered crucial so that imports do not weaken domestic producers and remain aligned with the national salt self-sufficiency target for 2027.

According to planning documents from the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, the national salt production target is set to increase from 2.25 million tonnes in 2025 to 2.5 million tonnes in 2026. This increase indicates that the government is pushing to strengthen domestic production towards self-sufficiency. However, data from the Central Statistics Agency shows that imports of industrial salt under HS code 25010093 reached approximately 936,000 tonnes in January–May 2026, a 13.1 percent year-on-year increase.

This situation suggests that rising local production must be accompanied by an obligation for importers to absorb local output. Without such an obligation, local salt production might increase but without guaranteed market certainty. Muhammad Rizal Taufikurahman, Head of the Macro Economy and Finance Centre at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance, stated that salt import policy must be based on accurate industrial needs and conducted selectively according to specifications that cannot yet be met domestically. He added that import policies must be accompanied by distribution monitoring to prevent leakage into the consumer market and integrated with the obligation to absorb locally produced salt that meets quality standards.

The principle of local absorption obligations for importers was previously regulated in the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Regulation Number 66 of 2017 concerning Import Control of Salt Commodities. However, this regulation was later revoked by Ministerial Regulation Number 27 of 2022. Despite the revocation, the principle of local absorption should not disappear from import governance. The government is expected to ensure that every import access is accompanied by an obligation to absorb local salt that meets quality standards, so that imports do not suppress the domestic producer market.

In the current context of salt import governance, import control requires cross-ministerial coordination. The Coordinating Ministry for Food is responsible for ensuring that the balance of salt needs and supply is compiled transparently, while the Ministry of Trade ensures that import approvals do not stop at procedural and document completeness. The Ministry of Industry is tasked with testing industrial needs based on specifications that cannot yet be met domestically, while the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries ensures that local salt production capacity is included in import policy calculations.

Presidential Regulation Number 17 of 2025 on the Acceleration of National Salt Development sets salt self-sufficiency by 2027 as a national mandate. However, this mandate must be translated into more concrete implementation instruments, particularly the obligation to absorb local salt as part of import licensing. Article 15 of the regulation opens the possibility of meeting national salt needs from other sources under certain circumstances, such as supply disruptions or shortages. However, this provision requires clear, transparent, and data-based parameters to prevent it from becoming a loophole for imports without local absorption obligations.

Therefore, any determination of certain circumstances should not only be based on demand data from businesses but must also consider stock levels, production capacity, and the realisation of local salt absorption. This mechanism would remain consistent with the 2027 self-sufficiency target and not weaken the market for domestic producers.

Economist Hardy Hermawan from the Praxa Institute stated that the government must ensure imported salt does not leak into the household market, including through adulteration practices. He emphasised that distribution monitoring is key to preventing industrial salt imports from pressuring the consumer salt market and local production. Hardy also stressed that the import process must be transparent, fair, and clean, with no privileges granted to certain actors. He added that imports can still be directed towards industrial needs as long as they generate added value for the economy, but the government must transparently and continuously disclose industry and trade data while strengthening support for local salt farmers.

Ultimately, salt import policy must go beyond merely regulating volumes and permits. Importers granted access should be required to demonstrate the realisation of local salt absorption, especially for specifications that domestic producers can already meet. Amid the 2027 self-sufficiency target, the government is urged to ensure that import policies do not operate in isolation from efforts to strengthen local production. Without clear absorption obligations, increased production targets risk not being matched by market certainty for domestic salt.