News and Articles

• Tata Chemicals approved 1 billion rupees to add 82,500 TPA of IVSD salt capacity at Mithapur within 12 months.
• The Mithapur plant operates at 92% utilisation on a 1.6 million tonne per annum base.
• A separate 5.15 billion rupee greenfield IVSD facility in Tamil Nadu with 210,000 TPA capacity is also underway.
• US evaporated salt supply constraints are driving increased global demand for high-purity vacuum salt grades.
• New capacity will not fully alleviate supply tightness until early 2027 at the earliest.

India's largest integrated salt producer is accelerating investment in high-purity vacuum salt capacity to meet growing domestic and export demand. Tata Chemicals' board of directors approved a 1 billion rupee (approximately $12 million) investment on May 4, 2026, to debottleneck iodised vacuum salt dried (IVSD) production at its Mithapur facility in Gujarat. The expansion will add 82,500 tonnes per annum of IVSD capacity within a 12-month timeline and will be financed through internal accruals.

The Mithapur plant currently operates at an annual capacity of 1.6 million tonnes with a utilisation rate of approximately 92%, leaving limited headroom to accommodate growing demand. IVSD, which is the industrial designation for what is commercially known as PVD (pure dried vacuum) salt, is produced through a vacuum evaporation process that yields a high-purity product with fine, uniform grain structure. It is the grade of choice for food processing, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemical applications where contamination must be minimised.

This latest investment follows a substantially larger commitment announced in February 2026, when Tata Chemicals approved a 5.15 billion rupee greenfield IVSD manufacturing facility in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu. That project, with a capacity of 210,000 tonnes per annum, is expected to take 36 months to complete and will create a second manufacturing hub to complement the Gujarat operations. Together, the two expansions represent the most significant capacity additions in India's vacuum salt segment in recent years.

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The expansions are taking place against a backdrop of tightening global salt supply dynamics. In the United States, supply constraints in the domestic evaporated salt sector have been driving increased imports and rising demand for alternative grades. The chemical feedstock segment, which accounted for 42% of total US salt sales in 2025, and highway de-icing, which accounted for 37%, are the dominant consumption categories. North America's approximately 31% import reliance for salt creates pricing spreads of up to three times between regions during peak winter demand.

For procurement professionals sourcing PVD salt, the Indian capacity build-out signals a medium-term easing of supply tightness for food-grade and industrial-grade vacuum salt. However, the 12-to-36-month lead time for new capacity to come online means that buyers will continue to face a tight market through at least early 2027. Contract negotiations should factor in the current high utilisation rates at existing plants and the logistical advantages that the new Tamil Nadu facility will offer for buyers in southern India and export markets.