Salt is currently mass-produced by evaporation of seawater or brine from other sources, such as brine wells and salt lakes, and by mining rock salt, called halite. In 2002, world production was estimated at 210 million metric tons, the top five producers (in million tonnes) being the United States (40.3), China (32.9), Germany (17.7), India (14.5) and Canada (12.3).[2]
As well as the familiar uses of salt in cooking, salt is used in many applications, from manufacturing pulp and paper, to setting dyes in textiles and fabric, to producing soaps, detergents, and other bath products. It is the major source of industrial chlorine and sodium hydroxide, and used in almost every industry.
Sodium chloride is sometimes used as a cheap and safe desiccant because it appears to have hygroscopic properties, making salting an effective method of food preservation historically; as it draws water out of bacteria through osmotic pressure preventing them from reproducing and causing food to spoil. Even though more effective desiccants are available, few are safe for humans to ingest.