Spotlight: Sandalwood: An expensive fragrance

Explore the challenges and potential revival of India's sandalwood industry amidst high demand and economic shifts.

On February 10, high drama ensued near Vidhana Soudha when a farmer from Chikkamagaluru, T.N. Vishu Kumar, carried a machete and severed a few branches of sandalwood trees planted near the legislative building.

The act was a form of protest against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which had begun felling sandalwood trees cultivated by Vishu at Haliyur in Tarikere taluk of Karnataka. The land had been notified for clearance to build National Highway 206 (Shivamogga–Tumakuru).

“It is unbearable for authorities to see a few branches being cut, but, at my home, they killed over 100 trees that I nurtured for 14 years. How must I feel then?” Vishu asked.

He further stated that while the NHAI had notified the clearance of 2,148 trees on his farm, the compensation had not been decided fairly. He claimed that he ought to be compensated over ₹100 crore, whereas he was being offered only ₹1 crore.

His argument is based on the sustained and steadily rising demand for sandalwood over the decades. 

Globally, the estimated annual demand for sandalwood stands at 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes, according to a recent report by the sandalwood development committee (SDC) set up by the Union Government. Meanwhile, global data indicates that sandalwood prices increase by at least 20% annually.