Africa: Ghana eyes No.1 salt producer spot on the Continent
Ghana has its eyes set on becoming the number one salt producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, says the Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Income Investment Fund, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng.
According to Mr Yaw Koranteng, the country could make one billion dollars annually from salt production alongside the enormous job opportunities the salt industry could create for the nation’s youth.
“Ghana is positioning itself as the number one salt producer in Sub-Saharan Africa. There’s the potential for Ghana to make about $1 billion every year from salt alone,” he told Oxford Business Economics Africa.
Given the enormous revenue-earning potential of the salt industry, the MIIF CEO noted that the country is investing $30 million in salt production since the pharmaceutical, textile, and other industries depend heavily on it as raw material.
“The country is investing $30 million in salt production since salt cannot only rake in revenue for the country but can also feed the pharmaceutical and textile industries”.
“We’re investing $30 million in salt and salt has 14,000 uses and Ghana is looking at how we can invest in this to expand the value chain of salt you see. We’re looking at pharmaceuticals, bicarbonate soda, food preservation, textiles, and aluminum castings; and we’re investing in Electrochem.
“Electrochem is managing a 41,000-acre Ada Songo space—the biggest salt production company in Sub-Saharan Africa”, he explained.
Ghana has the production potential of 2.2 million tonnes of salt annually.
Egypt (2.8m tonnes), Namibia (738,000 tonnes) and Morocco (720,000 tonnes) are among the biggest salt producers on the African Continent
The six leading salt producers in the world, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India, and the United States, account for more than half of the worldwide production.
