Lahore:
Even if the ban on India on Pakistani pink salt has opened up new opportunities for local merchants on other international markets, the real potential in the profitable sector remains unexploited since Pakistan, to date, has not been able to develop a value adjustment system for the treatment and the rebndage of what many consider the healthiest salt in the world.
A local salt exporter, Muhammad Riaz, revealed that even in the past, governments have been invited to export the unique salt from Pakistan with added value, but none has taken serious measures while India continued to market Pakistani salt like his on the global markets.
“Indian Traders are Currently Obtaining Salt Through Dubai. During the Tenure of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, A proposal Had been made for Pakistan to Export Salt Directly to Other Countries Rather Than Allowing India to Benefit from it. Presently, Pakistani Salt Exporters Are Again Salt Should not be exported as a raw matterial but instead should be processed and branded, EnaBling Pakistan to Boost Exports and Earn Valuable Foreign Exchange, “Naded Riaz.
Sources indicate that the current political tensions between Pakistan and India have seriously affected trade, pushing traders on both sides to adopt new strategies. From November 2023 to October 2024, Pakistan remained a major exporter of pink salt.
During this period, 3,789 Himalayan salt shipments were exported, marking an increase of 10% compared to the previous year. In 2023, India imported 462 metric tonnes of Himalayan pink salt from Pakistan, which increased to 642 metric tonnes in 2024. However, these figures are still significantly lower than 2018 (74,457 metric tonnes) and 2019 (72,631 metric tonnes).
After India imposed a direct ban on the importation of Pakistani salt in 2019, trade was completely interrupted. As a result, India has lost access to cheap pink salt it used to stock up on Pakistan. However, Indian merchants continue to import this salt through other countries, rename it and sell it under their own labels. Although the volume of trade has decreased, indirect exports of Pakistani salt to India are still underway. For years, India has made substantial benefits by buying this salt at low prices and selling it for much more.
Previously, India received cheap salt by the land road of Wagah, but it must now pay much more to acquire it. Since the complete suspension of trade by wagah following the pahalgam incident, relations between the two countries are more and more tense. Meanwhile, Indian merchants have started to import Pakistani pink salt via third countries. In this way, Indian companies continue to exchange Pakistani salt by indirect means and gain profits through added value.
After the Pulwama attack in 2019, India imposed a 200% rate on Pakistani products, which considerably reduced trade. As a result, exports of Pakistani pink salt to India have become negligible. In 2025, a complete ban was applied to the salt trade, and now it is planned that even indirect trade in third countries could stop.
Due to stopping the importation of Himalayan Pakistani pink salt, local prices in India have increased. The salt which had been sold before for 45 to 50 Indian rupees per kilogram is now at price up to 150 Indian rupees per kilogram. Consequently, India is now turning to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Iran, Australia and Afghanistan to meet its salt needs.
Meanwhile, during the first five months of 2025, Salt exports from Pakistan to China increased by 38%. Exporters say that in Punjab, the Mines and Minerals department actively extracted from mine salt, and salt reserves have been rented to the private sector. This allowed private companies to play a more active role in increasing exports.
“The government must completely stop the export of raw salt and focus on value added products,” implored Riaz.
