Why sandalwood is so expensive? Sandalwood is one of the most expensive woods in the world. But it is one portion of the sandalwood log that makes it so valuable. To get to it woodcutters tirelessly chop away the lighter outer layer of sapwood until they left with the core wood part. That is the dark inner core that makes a kilogram of Indian sandalwood cost $200 today. And that’s where sandalwood’s unique fragrance comes from. When it is distilled, it’s used in all kinds of products, from bath soaps to luxury-brand perfumes.
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So what makes sandalwood’s aroma so special?
Native to South India, Santalum album or Indian sandalwood was used for hundreds of years before becoming a go-to scent for expensive perfumes. Today, it is also used for wood carvings and medicine. And it is even considered a sacred tree in several religions. Once distilled, sandalwood’s sweet, woodsy aroma retains its scent for decades.
After harvesting, the forestry department sells sandalwood at auction to factories. Hollow heartwood logs are classified as Jajpokel, one of the 18 classes of Indian sandalwood. Factories can purchase pure heartwood like Jajpokel, or raw sandalwood logs. But if they buy the raw wood they’ll need to break down each log themselves.
Sandalwood manufacturing process
Although a machine helps split sandalwood into more manageable pieces, stripping the logs down to their heartwood core required the effort of several employees. In a physically demanding process, workers chop each log to remove the sapwood, the nonfragrant portion of the sandalwood.
Pure heartwood is the most valuable class of sandalwood. In some trees, pure hardwood is easier to extract because it forms in one circle at the center. In other trees, the heartwood mixes with sapwood, which impacts the final value of the oil.
After workers have gathered all they can, a machine breaks down the strips of wood into chips. They do a shift through these chips to grab any leftover pieces of usable heartwood. Then a separate machine turns these chips into powder.
Now distillation can begin. The process is long, and it starts with injecting steam into distillation stills. After the oil is extracted, all that’s left are giant mounds of powder. But even with most of the oil gone, some of the scents still lingers.
Rather than going to waste, it is used to make incense sticks and dhoop. Dhoop is a common form of incense in India used during religious rituals.
During the final stages, workers separate the oil from water and purify it until they’re left with a totally clean tank of sandalwood oil. It takes about a week to distill 1 metric ton of oil. Tanks of the purified oil are sent to labs. In these labs, researchers test each batch for quality. They smell samples of the oil to confirm the aroma is consistent across batches.
Why sandalwood is so expensive?
Sandalwood’s unique and long-lasting scent makes it compatible with a wide range of other fragrances, which is why it’s an ideal base for perfume. After the oil is tested, it heads to another factory where it will be used to make soap.
KS&DL is one of the biggest producers of sandalwood oil products globally. Although its primary focus is soap, the company sells bottles of just sandalwood oil too. One 10 gram bottle of sandalwood oil costs 5,500 rupees, or about $74.
Compared to 2017, 1 kg of Indian sandalwood oil can cost double today. And demand also isn’t slowing down. The market is expected to reach over $165 million by 2027. Out of roughly 10 sandalwood species, Indian sandalwood and Australian sandalwood have the largest commercial value. The difference is, the Indian species has higher levels of alpha-santalol and beta-santalol, which is the component in sandalwood responsible for its lasting scent and believed health benefits.
Challenge for the sandalwood production
India used to dominate the market for sandalwood oil-based products. But in recent years, Australia, which grows both the Indian and Australian sandalwood species has gained significant ground in the market.
Although this might look like a lot of sandalwoods, India is facing a supply shortage. The supply is so limited that sandalwood distilleries only operated for around four months in 2021. And up until 2002, it was illegal for private growers to plant sandalwood trees in the Southern states of Karnataka, Tamilnadu, and Kerala.
With only a small amount of government-sanctioned replanting alongside the overharvesting, India’s supply suffered. And since 2018, the species has been considered vulnerable, one level above endangered.
What will happen to sandalwood production in future?
Another factor that limits supply and increases the price is inherent to the way the tree grows. Older trees tend to yield more oil, which makes them preferable for oil production. Growers will typically wait around 20 years for a tree to mature. This waiting period doesn’t only limit the quantity of sandalwood, it also puts the trees at risk.
Today, every tree has to be registered with the government and can’t be harvested or transported without permission. But even these strict regulations aren’t enough to prevent theft. According to Hinduism Today, roughly 2,000 tons of smuggled sandalwood passed through the black market in 2018.
To successfully grow the trees for decades, farmers must pay the cost to protect them. In the city of Mysore, some trees are wrapped in barbed wire. On top of this threat, harvesting these trees isn’t simple.
When a farmer has approval, a government official must come in person to uproot the entire tree. None of the trees should be wasted, particularly heartwood in the trunk and roots since it holds the highest oil content. In the end, the tree’s total oil output isn’t much.
You get around 60 grams of sandalwood oil out of 1 kg of root-portion sandalwood. From stem, you get around 40 – 50 grams of sandalwood oil, in branches, you get around 30 grams to 40 grams.
To replenish some of its trees, the Karnataka state government created the Grow More Sandalwood program. There are around 360 farmers enrolled in this Grow More Sandalwood project. And the government encouraging farmers to grow more and more sandalwood. So after a minimum of 14 years, the government can buy those sandalwoods from farmers.
Conclusion
But growing trees comes with the cost of protecting them for decades at a time. Something that likely will still deter farmers. There are also the permissions growers need from the government, which slow down the process. It is uncertain if programs like this can return India to its old production levels. But at a minimum, the effort might help restore some of the country’s lost sandalwood supply.
So above mentioned reasons answer the question of why sandalwood is so expensive? Share with your friends If you think this content is valuable.