From sandalwood are obtained aromatic distillates widely used in perfumery and in Indian temples. The price of sandalwood? The Indian one, which is the most valuable, cost A$5000 a ton ten years ago, but in May of this year it reached A$114000; the Australian one, more abundant and less valuable, has gone from A$3000 in 2003 to A$15000 today. Enough to qualify this precious wood as 'brown gold'. And the Australian government has put it on the list of controlled raw materials for export, to avoid uncontrolled exploitation of these wooden resources.
Growing demand in China and India has driven up prices and created a vast black market for sandalwood. Naturally, the price is likely to whet the appetites of illegal harvesters, and smuggling of this timber has become a major problem, particularly in Western Australia. The Western Australian state legislature has passed tougher penalties for sandalwood smugglers. Meanwhile, they have set up sandalwood plantations, in which they have invested both Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds and American pension funds.
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