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Sandalwood bonanza, planting tree that is worth more than gold
By Rosli Zakaria

A sandalwood tree, Aquilaria malaccensis, measuring 60cm in diameter can fetch at least RM14,000. Multiply this by 40,000 trees on a 44-hectare plot of land, and the income from the harvest in six to 10 years would be a staggering RM560 million.

This is the projection by the state Forestry Department, which has begun planting the tree, commonly known as sandalwood or gaharu, on a trial basis at its station in Merchang, Marang.

The Merchang station was previously used for research into Acacia mangium trees, a foreign species, for the pulp and paper industry. The decision to replant the area with Aquilaria was made for economic reasons.

In the wild, sandalwood trees are felled for their heartwood ? the precious gaharu ? highly sought by perfume makers.

Gaharu has become a precious commodity because Aquilaria malaccensis is becoming very rare in the wild due to illegal extraction.

"The sandalwood tree is more precious than gold," state Forestry director Na?man Jaafar told the New Straits Times. "This is a new source of wealth for the State."

The trees at the Merchang station were grown under a silviculture programme since the middle of this year, collecting and replanting seedlings from the wild.

The trees should mature in 10 years and provide a continuous seed bank.

"But the trees can be logged after the sixth year," Na?man said. "We have found a technique where all the trees can be used instead of just the heartwood or gaharu. "The trees will be grounded to extract its resins, which will be processed for the perfume trade."

At current prices, the value of a tree ranges from RM14,000 to RM18,000, and of the heartwood from RM100 to RM200 a gram, which is more than the price of a gram of gold.

A healthy sandalwood tree does not produce gaharu, which requires inoculation with a certain micro-organism. It will then take another four to six years for the resins to develop. Some collectors cut trees in the wild hoping to find the resins, giving no chance for the mature tree to propagate and endangering its existence in the forest.

"There simply isn? enough time for the trees to propagate in the wild, and their scarcity only results in stronger demand and higher prices," Na?man said.