The salt industry in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) holds significant potential to become a national production hub due to its vast land suitable for salt ponds, high seawater salinity, and favorable climate with low rainfall. Economic analyst from Undana, Ricky Ekaputra Foeh, M.M., stated that NTT is an ideal region for developing and expanding the salt industry, though several challenges must be addressed. He highlighted key opportunities, including government support for self-sufficiency and reducing salt imports, export potential to neighboring countries needing high-quality industrial salt, and the adoption of modern technology to improve efficiency and quality. Additionally, the industry’s growth could create more local job opportunities.  

The increasing demand for industrial salt, particularly from the petrochemical and food sectors, presents another opportunity for NTT. The region also has vast underutilized land that can be developed for salt production. However, Ricky acknowledged several challenges, such as inconsistent salt quality, inadequate infrastructure leading to high logistics costs, and competition with imported salt from Australia and India, which offer standardized and competitively priced products. Limited skilled labor and traditional production methods also hinder growth, necessitating education and training programs. Furthermore, regulatory misalignment between national and regional policies and climate anomalies, such as unpredictable rainfall, could disrupt salt production, which relies heavily on natural evaporation processes.

Source:
https://kupang.tribunnews.com/2025/03/23/ntt-jadi-sasaran-tepat-pengembangan-industri-garam