Pakistan’s salt exports to China rise by 38% in 2025 reflecting growing trend in trade of mineral commodities.
Pakistan’s salt exports to China surged by 38% year-on-year in the first five months of 2025, reflecting growing trade cooperation in mineral commodities between the two countries.
As per official figures, Pakistan exported salt worth $3.44 million to China from January to May 2025, up from $2.50 million during the same period in 2024, according to Ghulam Qadir, Trade and Investment Counsellor at Pakistan’s Embassy in China.
Qadir explained that the increase in exports is largely due to China’s rising demand for high-purity salt used in medical applications such as enteral and parenteral solutions, classified under commodity code 25010019.
Pakistan shipped 22.5 million kilograms of this pharmaceutical-grade salt to China, generating $3.29 million in trade. The average price was $0.146 per kilogram, making it internationally competitive.
He noted that Pakistan is one of the few countries with vast reserves of rock salt, particularly the pink Himalayan variety, which is renowned worldwide for its purity and quality.
Despite being a relatively small supplier in China’s overall salt market, Pakistan’s salt exports show strong growth potential, he said.
Besides medical-grade salt, Pakistan also exported smaller quantities of edible and industrial salt to China during the same period.
Experts believe that Pakistan can capitalize on its low production costs and improving processing capacity to capture a larger share of China’s lucrative salt market.
Analysts recommend that Pakistan enhance its salt trade with China by investing in better processing infrastructure, aligning with Chinese pharmaceutical standards, and building strong logistics networks under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Stakeholders from both nations are working to improve trade facilitation and quality assurance, aiming to help Pakistan transition from bulk salt exports to more profitable processed salt segments.
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