Sandalwood, generic name being Santalum album, is the Indian Sandalwood also called as Chandan in many regions of India. It is a tropical tree native to south india and southeast Asia. The foremost and unique feature of this tree is its fragrance and other being its medicinal values. Because of the fragrance the wood from the tree is used in almost all the cultural or traditional events across the country irrespective of religion though It is very prominently used in the Hindu and Buddhist cultures.

Prior to 2001 the sandalwood tree was under the control of the forest department and private individuals were not allowed to grow these trees. Though India was the largest producer of sandalwood for the past many decades, the demand had grown substantially but the supply was inadequate to cope with the demand. This led to the relaxation of the rules to make common people grow sandalwood in their back years and farms. This lead a considerable increase in supply. Presently there is a restriction on cutting the trees on your own and it has to be done by the forest department only. But this rule may be relaxed in future and considerations are in place with the Government.

From the time of planting the sapling, it takes 7 to 8 years for the hardwood to form, which is the core wood which has premium market value. From that period it the hardwood grows at the rate of a kilogram every year. After the forming of hardwood it takes another 8 years to mature to consider it saleable but the price will not be much as the wood is still young. To get the fullest potential and value it may even take 20 to 25 years, that is the maximum weight, girth and the oil content it can produce. A kilogram of sandalwood will fetch INR 10,000 to 15,000 at current market value and one liter of sandalwood oil will fetch INR 65,000 to 1,50,000 at current rates. Sandalwood oil is one of the premium perfume and medicinal oil with a variety of uses and hence commands high prices among the category.

The maturity, quality of wood and oil all depends on how the cultivation is done apart from other factors such as weather, soil quality, host plants, elevation of the farm land, etc. Ideal conditions for sandalwood trees to achieve best output is 500mm-2000mm rainfall and at elevations of 650-1200 meter above sea level.

In India Sandalwood Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala are the major states for sandalwood cultivation together contributing to around 80% of total hectares for the country. Other states where sandalwood is cultivated includes Uttar Pradesh., Bihar, Odhisha, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Manipur. Indian sandalwood is highly sought after around the world and India contributes to around 90% of global supply.

Because of the high price it fetches due to huge demand and supply gap, sandalwood trees are prone to theft and smuggling. This is one of the drawbacks which keeps common man from entering into this venture in a big way. But the scenario is changing with the help of technology. Availability of CCTV cameras, hi-tech sensors for fencing has made securing the trees easier than ever before. Add to this newer technologies with GPS enabled chips which is inserted in to the plant helps to get alerts if there is any activity going on like cutting the tress on real time thereby enabling the farmer to take immediate action. Like many other industry technology is going to play a significant role in the protection and safe guard of this tree species from illegal trade.