Facts Only Please, page-11

Slow down a bit, that was the top price, certainly not the average;
Idukki: The two-day-long e-auction of sandalwood concluded at Marayoor sandal division in Idukki on Friday. This was the first time that the division is conducting e-auction and collected a total of 33.86 crore. As manly as 47,822.650 tonnes of sandal was sold during the auction.

The average includes everything sold, including roots, branches, sawdust etc.

There are roughly two major auctions a year. Just search Google.

Apparently the best time to harvest Indian sandalwood is during rainy season as they pull them out of the ground and in the rainy season the roots contain more fragrance, (the roots are sold as well).


However look at the quality of the wood in this picture from 2013, certainly not the heartwood we are used to seeing;



A total of 23.5 tonnes of sandalwood was auctioned for Rs. 12.45 crore at the sandalwood depot of the Forest Department at Hasthampatti in the city on Thursday. Department sources said that a total of 400 tonnes of sandalwood was kept in the depot, of which 100 tonnes were open for auction. Seven participants from Delhi, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Bangalore and Chennai took part in the auction, in which two persons from Chennai alone bought the 23.5 tonnes that was auctioned on the day. “The rest would be auctioned with the remaining stock after three months,” officials said.
Department officials said that 44 tonnes of sandalwood were sold for Rs. 23.5 crore during the previous auction that was conducted on May 30. Buyers said that many of them used to participate in the auctions when exports were good.

“The quantity of sandalwood that auctioned has come down since the Union Government imposed a ban on export seven years ago,” they said and added that another reason for poor sale was the increasing price that was fixed for the wood at the Salem depot. The sandalwood that is now bought is for manufacturing soap and scents by the companies in India, they added.
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