A country surrounded by the ocean has run out of salt, forcing people to pay more than double the price to purchase the kitchen staple.
Sri Lanka, an island nation surrounded by the Indian Ocean, is grappling with a rare salt scarcity due to a supply shortage following heavy rains.
The scarcity has forced Sri Lankans to pay more than double the regular price to purchase salt, with a 1kg packet going for between £1.1 and £1.25.
The salt shortage is the latest crisis to hit Sri Lanka. The South Asian country is still recovering from an unprecedented economic crisis that left it unable in 2022 to import sufficient stocks of oil and coal due to depleted foreign reserves.
Sri Lankans shared pictures on social media of empty market shelves while others rued that they had to hunt for salt.
"There is a severe shortage of salt. Supermarket shelves are running out of salt and consumers are getting frustrated," Jamila Husain, editor of Daily Mirror, posted on X.
There is a severe shortage of salt.
— Jamila Husain (@Jamz5251) May 21, 2025
Supermarket shelves are running out of salt and consumers are getting frustrated!
Another citizen said she had to "hunt for salt for the past few days" and finally found it in Boralasgamuwa city.
Had to hunt for salt for the past few days and finally found salt in Boralasgamuwa
— Tomes Reader (@TomesReader) May 15, 2025
Another day in Sri Lanka
Wonder if we cant get rid of the shortages with AI pic.twitter.com/binvq170aA
"Even our beloved rice and curry is under threat," wrote Dr Chandana Wickaramasinghe. “It’s ironic that an island nation surrounded by the ocean continues to face recurring salt shortages. And once again, for something as basic as salt, we’re turning to India – just as we do for fuel, medicines, and other essentials.”
The salt shortage was caused by domestic production at the Hambantota, Elephant Pass and Puttalam salterns suffering due to heavy rainfall and lack of sufficient sunlight since 15 March.
A fresh spell of heavy showers last week washed away nearly 15,000 metric tonnes of harvested salt intended for collection, salt producers in the Puttalam district said. A 50kg bag of salt at the pans was now being sold for about £17, a manifold jump from £3.7 previously.
Puttalam reportedly produces about 60 per cent of Sri Lanka’s salt.
Private and public salt production facilities have managed to yield harvests exceeding 100,000 metric tonnes over the past year but that is not enough to meet the national demand.
Sri Lanka’s 23 million people require about 180,000 metric tonnes of salt annually.
A stock of 3,050 metric tonnes of salt bought from India is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, trade minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said.
He said Sri Lanka did not relax the import ban on salt after an initial shipment due to request from the industry. “We first imported about 12,500 tonnes of salt,” Mr Samarasinghe said on Monday.
“They expected to get a harvest in March, and then in May. But in May also production has broken down due to rain. Given the failed harvest, we had no choice but to import salt despite our efforts to support the local industry.”
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