Andhra Pradesh government Late on Wednesday decided to auction 3,500 tonnes of seized red sandalwood on an electronic platform by inviting global tenders.

A Government Order (GO) issued Late on Wedneday stated that state government, after examining the recommendations of a Tender Committee which was set up to work out the modalities including finalisation of the tender documents for conducting global tender for the sale of red sanders wood, gave its nod for conducting sale of 3,500 tonnes of red sanders in log form in the second phase by e-tender-cum-e-auction process.

The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) had earlier issued notification permitting the government to export 8,584 tonne of red sanders wood in log form out of the confiscated/seized stock available with the government. Accordingly, in the first phase of the global auction for 117 lots, consisting of 2694 tonne of red sanders wood, was conducted in November-December last year, fetching the government Rs 855.91 crore. Like in the first phase, the government has appointed MSTC Ltd, a Government of India enterprise, as the agency for conducting e-auction services and state Forest Development Corporation Ltd, as the export agency to realise the sale proceeds.

The government has fixed a starting price of Rs 12 lakh per tonne for 'C' grade, Rs 20 lakh per tonne for 'B' grade and Rs 30 lakh per tonne for 'A' grade sandalwood, respectively. Red sanders is endemic in Seshachalam, Veliganda, Lankamala, and Palakonda hill ranges of the state, distributed in districts of Kadapa, Chittoor, and Kurnool in Rayalaseema region and parts of Nellore and Prakasam, though majority of red sanders smuggling takes place from Chittoor and Kadapa.

Red sanders, also known as red sandalwood, is a valuable wood which has a huge demand overseas, particularly in China, Japan, and East Asia, where it is used for making cosmetic products, furniture, musical instruments, and even drugs. Each tonne of red sanders commands a price of Rs 25 lakh in the international market

-PTI