Valuable insights from Dubai for Sadaharitha sales team

Twenty-four top performers in the sales team at Sadaharitha Plantations flew off to Dubai in early November to experience a unique three-day tour in the bustling, cosmopolitan Persian Gulf city. The visit was designed to enable them to gain valuable insights into buyer behaviour in the Gulf countries and emerging international trends in marketing Agarwood based products. An important feature of the tour was their exposure to the culture in the region that enhanced their understanding of the market in the Middle East and the potential it offered.

The tour was one of the many travel opportunities that the sales personnel at Sadaharitha are able to experience from time to time. Sadaharitha Plantations is the pioneer in commercial forestry in Sri Lanka and the business creates awareness about the advantages of investing in a forest which will generate an income in just eight years. More importantly, Sadaharitha Plantations offers investors the opportunity to contribute to afforestation and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through commercial forestry. 

Agarwood is considered to be the ideal species for commercial forestry. Agarwood is a fragrant resinous substance that is used to manufacture perfumes, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals around the world. Agarwood-based perfumes are greatly sought-after in the Gulf region. 

Agarwood is among the most expensive woods in the world. There are many names for the resinous, fragrant heartwood produced primarily by trees in the genus Aquilaria. Most commonly, the resin is known as agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gaharu, agalocha or oudh (In Arabic). Agarwood is exported in various forms such as oil, wood chips, powder and as finished products, such as perfumes, carvings, incense and medicine. 

Agarwood undoubtedly is a billion dollar industry. Its ever increasing price is attributed to the constantly growing demand in markets such as Middle-East, China, USA and Europe. Agarwood oil prices range from $ 30,000 to 50,000 for 1 kg and 1 kg of chipped Agarwood are sold at around $ 10,000, with a continuous growth in demand, making investors earn more on their investment. 

Sadaharitha Chairman Sathish Navarathna said, “We have over 2,000 acres of forestry and a portfolio of nearly 30,000 satisfied customers all over Sri Lanka who appreciate the great potential the investment offers in economic terms in addition to contributing significantly to preserving the environment by reducing greenhouse carbon emission. What’s more, forestry protects and preserves the land during inclement weather conditions.”  

He added, “It is a noteworthy fact that although tropical forests cover only 12% of the planet, it is the habitat of more than half of the world’s plants and animal species. At the current rate of deforestation this precious ecosystem will disappear within the next 100 years. We’re proud to say that Sadaharitha Plantations is the winner of a Gold Green Award because our business of commercial forestry is environment friendly and contributes to making the world green.” 

Today’s investors are seeking alternative assets to boost returns without altering their overall risk profile. Hence, commercial forestry has become a preferred choice of sustainable investment. Sadaharitha offers a variety of crops as investments in forestry, such as Mahogany, Sandalwood, Teak and Aquilaria (Agarwood) and the Company maintains 32 branch offices across the country to assist investors. 

Sadaharitha Plantations celebrated its 16th year of operation in 2018 and is now ready to embark on expanding the export potential of forestry by introducing a new range of value added products stemming from Agarwood. The timely Dubai tour of its top sales people will help to pave the way successfully for this ambitious initiative.