Ukraine used to independently provide itself and others with a strategically important product - salt, now it mostly selectively buys it abroad. The prices of salt in the shops are much higher than the level before the Russian invasion.
After the loss of salt mines in Donbas, the Ukrainian market quickly became saturated with imported salt, but the need for it remains high. People react nervously to a possible shortage, especially when the Russian media spreads fake news about it.
The salt shortage, along with the fuel shortage, became one of the first problems Ukrainians faced after the war began. Now there is enough salt, but Ukraine is actively working to reduce dependence on imports and produce its own product. For example, in Transcarpathia, they announced the possibility of a significant increase in production, even the ability to supply the entire country with salt. Also, some specialists from Donbas have already been transported.
The BBC report examines how Ukraine functions without the famous Artemsol, identifies sources of imported salt and explores the possibility of independently supplying the market with its own product in the near future.
Before the start of the war, Ukraine almost completely satisfied its needs for salt and was used as a leading exporter of this strategic product thanks to Artemsol, one of the largest salt producers in Europe. In 2017, its reserves reached 4.5 billion tons of rock salt, and the production capacity allowed to produce 7 million tons of salt annually.
A few years before the war, "Artemsil" began reforms, even receiving permission for tourist activities, conducting tours and concerts in salt mines. The volume of salt was so large that it was used even in unusual industries, such as the production of salt rooms and cosmetics.
During 2021, "Artemsil" produced 1.9 million tons of salt, and about a third of this amount remained on the domestic market, and the rest was exported to 15 countries around the world. Several other mining enterprises in the Donetsk, Poltava, Kherson and Lviv regions also worked on the market, but their resources and production volumes were significantly different from Artemsol. For example, the reserves of Slavyanska Sil LLC, also in Donetsk region, were estimated at approximately 90 million tons.
During the Russian invasion, the front was rapidly approaching the city of Soledar, where Artemsol, a large enterprise that was once one of the largest producers of salt in Europe, had its headquarters.
Already in the first month of the war, the enterprise became the object of shelling, and salt production stopped in April. Until May 2022, "Artemsol" continued to pay salaries to employees, but in June the company's activities were stopped.
As a result of hostilities, the company's workshops suffered from fires, the equipment was completely destroyed, and the buildings were damaged. Many employees were forced to leave their homes.
The area where the richest salt mines are located - Bakhmut and Soledar - turned into a field of fierce battle that lasted for half a year from July 2022 to January 2023. Since the beginning of January, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have completely retreated from the outskirts of Soledar after fighting that was called "madness", leaving the Russian occupation of the city and the railway station called Sil under their control. Today, Soledar remains under Russian occupation.
After the cessation of activity of the main producer of salt in Ukraine, which provided approximately 90% of all production, prices for this product in the country rose sharply - from 9 to 90 hryvnias per kilogram.
Ukraine, formerly a major exporter of salt, is now forced to import this product. However, with the first large deliveries of imported salt, prices began to decrease.
Salt from "Artemsol" disappeared from store shelves and appeared there again, already as a kind of souvenir. Some retailers used unsold stocks to create packages with the help of the UNITED24 project, the profit from the sale of which was given to the needs of the Ukrainian army. It was later announced that the sale of a limited batch of Artemsoli raised more than $1.6 million to purchase drones for Ukrainian intelligence agencies.
Currently, the salt market, according to agricultural market expert Larisa Huk, is stable thanks to imported supplies, although prices are higher compared to the previous period, and more sea salt has also appeared.
"We closed the deficit with imports. It seems that everyone has calmed down, but the prices are already three times higher than the previous ones," the expert notes, pointing out that during this period Ukrainian entrepreneurs switched to a new type of activity.
"Many small producers buy salt in bulk and repackage it. Just like with sugar, oil or pasta."
The new approach was also adopted by retail chains, which use their own packaging to increase profitability when selling wholesale products.
The State Customs Service reports that during the first half of 2023, Ukraine imported more than 211,000 tons of salt worth more than $46 million. The share of salt in the total volume of imports has increased, but remains small - only 0.15%.
In comparison, during 2022, Ukraine imported almost 440,000 tons of salt worth 92 million dollars.
Turkey is identified as the largest supplier of salt to Ukraine, providing approximately one third of the total volume of salt imports. In addition, salt is also supplied to Ukraine from Romania and Egypt.
It is worth noting that last year Poland was among the main suppliers of salt, which before the war was one of the main buyers of Ukrainian salt exports. The volume of salt exports to Poland in 2021 reached more than 700,000 tons.
How much salt does Ukraine really need?
When it comes to the production or import of salt, it is important to consider that it refers to both edible salt used in the food industry and technical salt used in metallurgy, oil refining, chemical industry, paper, glass, paint and varnish production.
Industrial salt is also used to treat roads and airstrips, which is important to consider.
It is also necessary to remember that table salt is used not only in kitchens. In the food industry, it is used for preservation and production of a wide range of products - from ketchup and mayonnaise to candies and cakes.
After the termination of Artemsol's activities and the appearance of unrest due to the shortage of salt on store shelves, Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Kachka explained that of the total production volume of the enterprise in 2021, which was 1.1 million tons, 907 thousand tons accounted for industrial salt.
It is important to note that one of the biggest buyers of "Artemsoli" products was the Mariupol Metallurgical Plant named after Ilyich, which was destroyed by the Russians.
Another important customer was "Avtodor", which used significant volumes of salt for road treatment in winter. However, the planes stopped flying over Ukraine with the closure of the sky with the beginning of the war.
Before the start of the war, Ukraine's internal needs for technical salt amounted to about 907 thousand tons, and for food salt - 450 thousand tons annually. This volume, plus or minus, was produced by the "Artemsil" company, according to Ksenia Orynchak, executive director of the National Association of the Extractive Industry of Ukraine.
However, it is obvious that now the need for technical salt has decreased significantly. "Azovstal" and "Mariupol metallurgical plant named after Ilyich", which are now not controlled by Ukraine due to the war, were almost completely destroyed, which led to a significant reduction in the production of other domestic metallurgical enterprises of Ukraine, Ksenia Orynchak points out.
It is also worth considering the decrease in the population of Ukraine, reminds Larisa Huk, as a result of the departure of millions of Ukrainians abroad and losses due to the war.
Not only demographic indicators are changing, but also eating habits, in particular, there is a shift from rock salt to sea salt. Such a phenomenon can be observed not only in everyday life, but also in industry, where sea salt, in particular coarse, is effectively used - confirmed by the experience of housewives interested in industrial salting.
"Of course, it's always better to have your own way in everything, especially in the food industry. This makes you more flexible in any circumstances. A well-known example is the "golden" onion," the agrarian expert adds.
But even with limited needs for salt, it becomes difficult to satisfy internal reserves exclusively with own resources.
The total reserves of rock salt in Ukraine are estimated at approximately 9 billion tons. These reserves are located in Donbas, in the Dnieper lowland, in Zakarpattia and Prykarpattia, as well as in Crimea. However, due to the war and the Russian occupation, only reserves mined in western Ukraine are available.
In order for there to be more domestic salt on the market and less imported salt, in addition to the availability of reserves, it is critically important to quickly increase the volume of production.
At the moment, the only domestic producer of salt remains the Drohobytsk Saltworks, which expanded its capacity to 55 tons per month in the spring of 2022. The production process here is different: first, salt ore is mined, which is then evaporated over firewood. This complex and costly production process determines the higher price of Drohobytsi salt compared to Artemiv salt. Obviously, this salt cannot completely replace it.
However, during the last six months, statements have been heard from another western region of Ukraine that salt from this region can not only satisfy domestic needs, but also restore the export of salt from Ukraine.
Can Transcarpathia provide Ukraine with salt?
Transcarpathia has been famous for its salt production for centuries, the history of which dates back to the end of the 18th century during the era of the Austrian Empire.
Industrial extraction of salt in the territory of the village of Solotvino began in Soviet times, and later an underground allergy department was opened there. People descended to a depth of about 300 meters to experience the beneficial properties of the salty air, which helped with respiratory diseases and asthma.
In 2007, the Solotvin mines became the object of flooding, which led to the formation of karst sinkholes. Since then, the mines have stopped working, and the village has received the status of an emergency zone.
Recently, the landscape has changed: what were once depressions have become deep salt lakes. In August 2023, the Transcarpathian Regional Council reported on 140 areas for the development of karst sinkholes in Solotvyn.
Local authorities and President Zelenskyi expressed confidence that Transcarpathia can provide Ukraine with salt. Viktor Mykyta, the head of the Transcarpathian regional government, predicts that in the coming years the region will be able to produce 100% of technical and food salt for all of Ukraine.
Nikita informs that half a year ago in Zakarpattia they started mining technical salt from a new field - Tereblyansky. It is also planned to expand the mining capacity and restore the glory that the Solotvyn salt deposit and the associated health resorts once had.
"The main thing is not to repeat mistakes. In Soviet times, mining took place at too high a pace, now we know what it can lead to," Viktor Mykyta emphasized.
According to him, former employees of "Artemsol", who now work as whole families, have found work in Solotvyn. It is noted that 40 kilometers from Solotvyn, the Tereblyanske deposit is being actively developed, where production of industrial salt has already begun.
The head of the Transcarpathian regional government said that salt is extracted with the help of a special technical device, which resembles a harvester. This harvester drills the salt and dumps it onto a conveyor belt that pulls the salt to the surface.
The deposit is being developed by Kation Invest LLC, which employs former employees of Artemsol. The director of the enterprise, Serhiy Kondratiev, noted that they are working together with specialists from "Artemsol", and expressed his belief that the development of the Tereblyan deposit will be successful.
"Our Tereblyan salt in its unprocessed form is suitable for technical needs, there are many impurities, and the percentage of sodium here is about 90%, while there it is 97-98%," added Kondratiev.
Regarding the quality, he admits that currently Tereblyansk salt is inferior to Artemsolsk salt, but believes that the quality will improve over time. The Tereblyan deposit has large deposits of high-quality table salt, but it takes time to extract it.
It is noted that if it is possible to reach high-quality deposits of edible salt, production can begin in the second half of 2024. It is planned that by the end of 2024 Transcarpathia will be able to provide 50% of Ukraine's needs for "extra" table salt. Victor Mykyta expressed the hope that in 2025 the Tereblyan deposit will provide 100% of Ukraine's needs for both technical and food salt.
Reserves of the Tereblyan deposit amount to about 500 million tons of technical salt and about one hundred million tons of food salt. Viktor Mykyta is sure that salt can be developed "for decades, for centuries" and exported not only to the domestic market.
However, the authorities admit that the export of salt from Transcarpathia requires solving logistical issues, since the deposit is far from railways, and local roads cannot withstand a large traffic flow.
Are there alternatives to importing salt? Experts express a less optimistic view on the prospects of massive salt production in Transcarpathia and, in general, on the rapid growth of Ukrainian production.
The director of the National Association of Mining Industry, Ksenia Orinchak, points out that it will not be easy to resume mining at the Solotvyn deposit. According to her, it is necessary to build a new mine or use the method of extracting salt by evaporation from oil extracted from special wells. Such technical solutions, although possible, are expensive and time-consuming, which requires significant costs. Therefore, the restoration of salt production in Solotvino, if it happens, will last a long time.
Other fields in the west of Ukraine are also problematic, in particular Tereblianske, which the authorities of Transcarpathia rely on. All the necessary procedures, examinations and obtaining special permits, as well as the purchase of equipment and training of employees, Orynchak notes, will take at least two years.
The same situation is observed with the Dolynsky deposit in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. The Verkhnostrutynskoye deposit is facing even more difficult difficulties, as mining here has caused a wave of discontent and protests among the local population.
According to Ksenia Orinchak, the rapid growth of domestic salt production at the required level should not be expected before the next few years, therefore the import of salt, both food and technical, will remain relevant.
