For the previous three many years, Vipan Kumar has been importing Himalayan pink salt from Pakistan to promote in India.
The 50-year-old dealer who relies in Amritsar in Punjab, the religious hub of Sikhs in India, informed Al Jazeera that the current blanket ban on commerce between the 2 international locations following the massacre of 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, at Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir in April has introduced that commerce to a screeching halt after New Delhi banned imports of all Pakistani items, together with these routed by way of third international locations.
Kumar says he usually bought 2,000 to 2,500 tonnes of pink salt 1 / 4. “The revenue margin may be very skinny, however nonetheless the enterprise is possible due to the majority gross sales. However the ban has fully halted the pink salt enterprise. We don’t know when the scenario would flip regular,” he informed Al Jazeera.
The Himalayan Pink Salt has a pinkish tint as a result of a hint of minerals, together with iron, and is utilized in cooking, ornamental lamps and spa therapies. Hindus additionally want to make use of this salt throughout their non secular fasts as it’s a non-marine salt.
Mined in Pakistan
The Himalayan pink salt is mined on the Khewra Salt Mine within the Punjab province of Pakistan, the second largest salt mine on this planet after Sifto Salt Mine in Ontario, Canada, and situated about 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the town of Lahore, which additionally at instances lends its identify to the pink salt – Lahori namak, which is Hindi for salt.
The salt mine incorporates about 82 million metric tonnes of salt, and 0.36 million metric tonnes is extracted yearly. About 70 p.c of the salt is used for industrial functions, and the remaining for edible use.
“The mine may be very scenic and attracts a number of thousand vacationers yearly,” Fahad Ali, a journalist who lives near the mine, informed Al Jazeera.
It has roughly 30 salt processing items the place the large rock salt boulders are hand-mined and loaded on vehicles earlier than being dispatched, he stated.
The salt is exported in a uncooked kind to India, the place importers course of, grind and pack it on the market.
Costs swell
India largely is dependent upon Pakistan for this pink salt.
However after the Pahalgam bloodbath, India introduced an finish to all commerce with Pakistan, which reciprocated the ban. The halt in commerce was considered one of a collection of diplomatic and financial tit-for-tat measures the neighbours took towards one another earlier than partaking in an intense four-day alternate of missiles and drones that took them to the cusp of a full-fledged warfare. On Could 10, they stepped again from the brink, agreeing to a truce. Nevertheless, the commerce ban stays in place.
Salt merchants in India informed Al Jazeera that the present pause in imports has began to hamper their enterprise as costs are beginning to rise.
“It has been barely over a month for the reason that announcement of the ban, and costs have already gone up,” stated Gurveen Singh, an Amritsar-based dealer, who blamed merchants with current shares for promoting them at increased costs.
“The salt which was bought within the retail marketplace for 45 rupees to 50 rupees per kilogramme [$0.53-$0.58] earlier than the ban is now being bought for at the least 60 rupees per kilogramme [$0.70],” Singh stated.
In some locations, the worth is even increased. In Kolkata this week, pink salt was being bought in markets for between 70 rupees and 80 rupees per kilogramme [$0.82-$0.93].
“We do not know when the scenario would return to regular. There could be full disaster as soon as the shares get exhausted,” he stated.
The charges, nonetheless, go up much more on the opposite facet of India within the east as a result of transportation value incurred to ship the salt from Amritsar.
Merchants in Kolkata informed Al Jazeera that the costs of the salt have gone up by 15-20 p.c within the metropolis, however that has not hampered demand as but.
“The Himalayan rock salt stays in big demand throughout the yr, particularly throughout festivals when individuals stay on quick and like the pink salt over the marine salt that’s produced in India,” stated Sanjay Agarwal, a supervisor in a non-public agency that offers in pink salt.
Dinobondhu Mukherjee, a salt dealer in Kolkata, stated that the federal government ought to search for another nation to obtain this salt. “The relations between the 2 international locations are often strained, and that impacts the commerce. Our authorities ought to search for different international locations to obtain the salt in order that the availability chain isn’t disrupted,” Mukherjee informed Al Jazeera.
Pakistani exporters, nonetheless, stated that the Indian ban would have a “optimistic influence” on their commerce. Indian merchants, they stated, model their salt as their very own to promote within the worldwide market at increased costs.
“The current ban would assist us to develop additional as it will wipe off the competitors from India,” Faizan Panjwani, chief working officer of Karachi-based RM Salt, informed Al Jazeera.
“Undoubtedly, India is an enormous market and has plenty of potential, however we need to ship the salt by doing worth addition and never in uncooked kind. Our salt is already in big demand globally,” he stated.
Commerce decline
Commerce between the 2 international locations has been reducing for the reason that 2019 assault on safety forces in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir by which 40 safety personnel had been killed. In response, India revoked the non-discriminatory market standing – higher generally known as Most Favoured Nation (MFN) standing – that it had granted to Pakistan. It additionally imposed heavy tariffs of 200 p.c on imports from Pakistan.
In accordance with India’s Ministry of Commerce, the nation’s exports to Pakistan from April 2024 to January 2025 stood at $447.7m, whereas Pakistan’s exports to India throughout the identical interval had been a paltry $420,000.
In 2024, India imported about 642 metric tonnes of pink salt, which was far decrease than the 74,457 metric tonnes imported in 2018 – largely because of the excessive tariffs.
Previous to the grand slam ban, India’s main exports to Pakistan included cotton, natural chemical compounds, spices, meals merchandise, prescription drugs, plastic articles, and dairy merchandise. India usually imports copper articles, uncooked cotton, fruits, salt, minerals and a few speciality chemical compounds from Pakistan.
“The implementation of the heavy responsibility had raised the import worth of the salt from 3.50 rupees [$0.041] per kilogramme to 24.50 rupees [$0.29] per kilogramme in 2019, though the salt was being routed from the third nation like Dubai,” dealer Kumar informed Al Jazeera.
“Nonetheless, it had not impacted our enterprise because the demand was too excessive, and consumers had been able to pay the worth. However the authorities, this time, has additionally prohibited the entry of Pakistani items from any third nation, which has introduced the availability to a whole standstill,” he stated.
One uncommon trade that’s being damage by the ban – lamps created from the Himalayan pink rock salt which are used as ornamental lights and even tout unproven claims of being air purifiers.
“We have now to search for another nation if the availability of rock salt doesn’t come from Pakistan,” stated International Aroma founder Deep, who makes use of a single identify. “The costs of the lamps had already elevated after the imposition of a 200 p.c tariff in 2019, and the procurement from another nation will result in additional escalation of value.”