Salt Division

Sustainable Sun-Dried Salt

Salt, indispensable for life, has been a core part of our growth and history. We pride ourselves on being the pioneering private company to bring foreign-produced salts from countries like China, Spain, and Egypt to our shores, growing alongside the essential mineral.

Today, our Salt Business operates out of the world's largest Guerrero Negro salt works, nestled by the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve (a World Heritage site) in the heart of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. There, leveraging the natural forces of the sun and sea breeze, we meticulously harvest high-purity sun-dried salt over 2 to 3 years. This salt undergoes a thorough process of grinding, impurity removal, drying, and packaging before it reaches our customers. Additionally, we offer a variety of other salt products.

Kyoei Shoji's Kitakyushu Plant is a registered member of SDGs fukuoka and SDGs kitakyushu.

The World's Largest Sun-Dried Salt Works

Guerrero Negro Salt Works (El Vizcaino Bay)

Located deep within El Vizcaino Bay, in the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon (an inlet), sits the world's largest sun-dried salt works, the Guerrero Negro salt works.
he area boasts perfect conditions for producing sun-dried salt: extremely low annual rainfall, strong sunlight, and brisk sea breezes. The Guerrero Negro salt works, is operated by ESSA, a joint venture between the Mexican government and Mitsubishi Corporation. It produces about 7.5 million tons of salt annually, supplying about half of Japan's total salt imports.

El Vizcaino Bay is situated on the Pacific side of the central Baja California Peninsula. As a World Heritage-listed area, efforts are made to protect natural resources and ecosystems, ensuring an environment with a very low risk of marine pollution. Additionally, this region is a breeding ground for gray whales, which visit with the cold currents for spawning and rearing their young, making it a sacred site for reproduction.

Sun-dried salt after harvest

The washed sun-dried salt is temporarily stored and directly loaded at the barge loading site. It is then towed by tugboat, traveling approximately 100km over 10 hours to the storage base on Cedros Island. From the towed barge, the salt is conveyed to a sieving machine.
Before arriving in Japan

At the sieving machine, the salt is divided into general-purpose and industrial grades, and then sent to the salt storage area. There, it is further categorized by use for general purposes, industrial purposes, and export destinations, including moisture adjustment before storage. Subsequently, the sun-dried salt is loaded onto ships capable of carrying 180,000 tons and headed for Japan.

How sun-dried salt is produced

Sun-dried salt is created by drawing seawater into vast expanses of land and using only the natural forces of solar heat and wind to evaporate the water. This slow process, which takes 2 to 3 years, involves moving seawater from reservoirs to crystallization ponds. The rainy climate of Japan is not suited for the production of sun-dried salt, and unlike Mexico, Japan does not have large-scale sun-dried salt works.

STEP 1
- Seawater is pumped into evaporation ponds
- It is evaporated and concentrated to become saturated brine
- Then, it is pumped to the crystallization site
STEP 2

The 12cm to 16cm thick layer of salt crystals that forms is harvested
STEP 3
- The crystals are washed
- Moisture is removed at the salt storage site
STEP 4

Pure, high-quality sodium chloride with beautiful crystals is produced

Sun-Dried Salt Processing Workflow

Sun-Dried Salt Processing Plant

ISO 9001 certification acquired in 2008

: ISO 9001 is a standard for quality management systems aimed at continuously improving the quality of products and services offered. ISO, or the International Organization for Standardization, is a non-governmental organization.

Major plant equipment: Grinder, Magnet, Dryer, Packaging line, Palletizer

Products

Coarse-Grain Sun-Dried Salt

Product Specifications

Packaging: 25-kg kraft paper bag, 500 & 1,000-kg FIBC, Bulk
Average grain size: about 3,000 microns

Characteristics

Coarsely ground Mexican sun-dried raw salt, with uniform grain size and adjusted moisture content.

Uses

Pickling, soy sauce, seafood processing, aquaculture (seaweed, eel, carp), seafood brine freezing, ion exchange resin regeneration (boilers, sugar refining), agriculture
Ground Sun-Dried Salt

Product Specifications

Packaging: 25-kg kraft paper bag, 500 & 1,000-kg FIBC, Bulk
Average grain size: about 350-1,200 microns

Characteristics

Mexican sun-dried raw salt, ground and grain size adjusted for various uses.

Uses

Pickling, seafood processing, salt curing, feed, leather, antifreeze agent
Sun-Dried Salt

Product Specifications

Packaging: 25-kg plastic bag, 500 & 1,000-kg FIBC, Bulk
Average grain size: about 3,000 microns

Characteristics

Made without any alterations to Mexican sun-dried salt. Even when used in large quantities, its high dissolving speed eliminates the need for agitation and leaves no residual grains. The bags are push-cut plastic bags that are easy to open, making them suitable for outdoor use.

Uses

Pickling, soy sauce, seafood processing, aquaculture (seaweed, eel, carp), agriculture
Sun-Dried Salt for Boilers

Product Specifications

Packaging: 25-kg plastic bag, 500 & 1,000-kg FIBC
Average grain size: about 3,000 microns

Characteristics

Made without any alterations to Mexican sun-dried salt. Even when used in large quantities, its high dissolving speed eliminates the need for agitation and leaves no residual grains. The bags are push-cut plastic bags that are easy to open, making them suitable for outdoor use.

Uses

Ion exchange resin regeneration (sugar refining, boilers), etc.
Shiomaro

Product Specifications

Packaging: 25-kg kraft paper bag
Average grain size: about 500 microns

Characteristics

Sun-dried salt (crystals) that has been washed, dried, and ground without being dissolved and recrystallized to meet a wide range of food applications. It is characterized by its lack of harshness and its smooth, mellow flavor. Products made using this product can be labeled as "Made with Sun-Dried Salt."

Uses

Pickling, bread making, seasoning, bath salts, cosmetics
Coarse-Grain Sun-Dried Salt

Composition and moisture content of sun-dried salt are listed here.

*Click on the image to enlarge.

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Other proposed products

Food additives

Monosodium glutamate (from Indonesia and China), sodium acetate, etc.

Antifreezes

Calcium chloride, magnesium chloride

*We offer a variety of products imported from overseas manufacturers in addition to the above.
Please feel free to inquire.

Logistics materials

Flexible container bags, tent warehouse structures, mobile racks

SDG Initiatives

Contributing to the reduction of environmental impact

Our sun-dried salt is concentrated and crystallized by sunlight and wind.
Improving yields and reducing waste

We have renovated our plant and will continue to improve our yields of sun-dried salt and undertake efforts to avoid raw material waste.
Conserving and sustainably using marine resources

We will continue to process and market sun-dried salt that has been concentrated and crystallized through natural energy.
Salt industry partnership

As an industry member, we have renewed our plant and will continue striving to be a stable salt supplier.