Despite the huge salt production potential of the country's coast, the renewable resource remains highly untapped as output levels are less than 10% of potential output. Meanwhile many of the indigenes of coastal communities wallow in poverty amidst high levels of unemployment. What the sector needs is, investment,and technology adoption.
The study therefore recommends a mix of strategies aimed at rejuvenating the sector to achieve optimum harnessing of salt deposits. This would help diversify the export markets of Ghana and help her industrialization drive towards achieving an upper-middle income country status in the short-to-medium-term.
Ghana has the best salt producing potential in the West African region per studies. 60% of salt produced in Ghana is iodized compared to other west Africa countries .
The global industrial salt market is witnessing a steady growth in terms of consumption.
The chemical sector is one of the major end-users of industrial salt, where it is primarily used in the production of Chlor-alkali (chlorine and caustic soda) and synthetic soda ash.
Chlor-alkali production is the largest market for salt, accounting for approximately 43% of world consumption in 2020. Around 64% of the global consumption was witnessed in East Asia, followed by North America (20%) and Western Europe (16%).
The growing demand for products such as caustic soda and soda ash is driving the growth of Chlor-alkali. Per this analysis salt industries can create over 80,000 jobs alone in coastal areas and contribute 1 billion dollars to the economy annually.
Pulse Editor's Opinion is the opinion of an editor of Pulse. It does not represent the opinion of the organization Pulse.
By: Eric Jerry Aidoo (Greater Accra youth organiser of CPP)