Morton Salt sets up JV in China

CHINA remains the largest consumer of salt in the world, and the fastest growing importer as well. According to Morton Salt, a supplier of salt products to the China market, it is seeing strong demand not only for culinary salts, but for those used in other industries. This continued growth has led the company to start a joint venture with the China National Salt (Shanghai) Salt Company.

The JV has been named the Morton China National Salt (Shanghai) Salt Co. Ltd. Under the terms of agreement recently signed by Morton CEO Christian Herrmann and Wang Xueshi, general manager of China National Salt, their collaboration will include trademark and technology licensing agreements.

"Morton Salt has been a leading brand in the US for more than 165 years, and our expansion in China through this joint venture is an exciting step toward achieving our vision, which is to establish Morton Salt as the premium salt brand in China," said Mr Herrmann.

“This is an important and distinctive milestone for the global salt industry," said Mr Wang.  "Through this strategic collaboration, we are demonstrating an increased level of cooperation between U.S. and Chinese commercial interests whilst also providing Chinese consumers with greater choice in the marketplace.”

The JV will import, market and sell packaged Morton culinary salts (table salt and sea salt), water softening salts, and Epsom salts in China. To facilitate production and distribution in the new market, the JV will oversee construction of a packaging operation in Shanghai, which opens in March 2015.