sac personally and from what I have heard out of the broader sandalwood industry (Australian and Indian combined) and from my knowledge of growing the Australian type (Santalum spicatum), I believe the expectations on oil yields are grossly overstated by the likes of TFS. The aromatic oils only form in the heartwood and what determines heartwood formation is time. The longer the tree lives the more likely heartwood yields will be good. The tree being produced in the Ord are likely to have significantly higher sapwood to heartwood ratios since they are growing so fast. Plantation produced timber will be a greatly reduced quality to wild harvested trees which will likely have grown in tougher conditions and hence have a denser wood with greater percentage of heartwood. Smaller annular rings in wild timber concentrates the oil and hence makes it better quality. You can replicate this in an orchard unless you have the trees stressed with competition and that obviously menas you need to allow longer for the harvest.
I think the whole Indian sandalwood industry is headed for uncertain times once a few core samples hit the market and it becomes clears yields will not be what TFS and others have suggested they will be. And of course the US$100,000 per tonne quote they always use is a grade of timber they will never produce. It is basically misleading to be quoting this figure to the marketplace.
Will they produce saleable timber? Absolutely. Will they make a profit on it? I doubt it ... their saving grace will be the valuable land asset they own.
