Netherlands Antilles

Stamps commemorating Bonaire's salt industry depicting salt crystals, a solar
salt pond and a map of Bonaire showing the location of the solar salt pond.

The Spanish landed on Bonaire in 1499 and began using local salt for preserving fish and meat. The island's arid climate and trade winds accelerate the process of making salt seawater entering the salt flats being converted to crystals ready for harvest in only two to three months. To benefit from these natural advantages, Cargill leases land amounting to about 13 percent of the 115-square-mile island (most of the narrow, sea-level southern end) to produce salt. Bonaire's salt crystals are large, long, dense and heavy; they can be processed for a variety of uses ranging from making home water softeners and dyes for the textile industry to processing petroleum products. The salt is mainly marketed in the Caribbean and North America with the balance going to Europe and Africa.

Go to the Salty Stamps Home Page.

© Derrick Grose, 2023