The sources of salt in China are mainly divided into three categories: sea salt, lake salt (pond salt), mineral salt (rock salt) and bamboo salt. At present, the proportion of salt products in China is 87% for well salt, 1% for sea salt and 3% for lake salt.

1. Sea salt: sea water is introduced into the salt field, then exposed to the sun, evaporated and crystallized.

2. Lake salt (pond salt): the salt directly extracted from the salt lake, or the salt lake brine is dried in the salt field.

3. Mineral salt (rock salt): It is mined from a salt deposit, and the rock salt is buried 1-3m underground.

4. Bamboo salt: The crude salt is sealed in a bamboo tube with yellow mud and calcined at high temperature, which not only removes the off-flavor of salt, but also has a hint of bamboo fragrance. Gu Chuanling, deputy secretary-general of the Capital Health Nutrition and Food Society, introduced in the Health Times in 217 that the quality of well salt is higher than that of lake salt and sea salt, because the raw materials of well salt come from natural brine and rock salt deposits below 1, meters deep wells, which will hardly be polluted and have few impurities.

China's salt production:

1. The total annual consumption of salt in China is basically stable at 7 million tons (this amount is proportional to the population, and there will be no big fluctuations as long as the population does not change greatly), while the annual salt production in China exceeds 4 million tons, most of which are used as chemical raw materials. Once necessary, these capacities can easily produce enough salt.

2. In the national salt, the proportion of sea salt is decreasing year by year, and most of what people usually eat is well mineral salt. The main reasons are as follows: First, sea salt contains more impurities, so it is expensive and uneconomical to purify.

Second, the sea salt field occupies too much land, and the beaches along the sea are very valuable. They are gradually turning to seafood farming and land development, and the profit rate of salt production is too low. In fact, in the economically developed southern region, the sea salt field has long declined, which is purely due to economic laws.

3. The reserves of well salt are very rich. Just a salt mine has hundreds of millions of tons. It is not a problem for the people of the whole country to eat for hundreds of years, and it is also widely distributed. Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Henan, Jiangxi and Qinghai are all large producing areas, so transportation is not a problem.

4. China's salt circulation is a national monopoly, and the price is strictly controlled. There is no need to worry about people speculating about the price increase. Even if it is sold out temporarily, the supply capacity of local salt companies will soon ensure the supply. Although the franchise system has various drawbacks, it still has advantages in ensuring the supply of salt.

above content reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Edible Salt