Opportunities for the smallholder sandalwood industry in ... - ACIAR

The current marketing duopoly operating in
Vanuatu was established to limit the volumes of
sandalwood harvested from the small wild resource,
while maintaining competition to ensure that resource
owners gain a fair price. While this industry structure
is highly appropriate for the current wild-harvest
industry, it does not encourage larger investments
for establishing planted sandalwood resources.
The transition from the current system to an open
market for planted sandalwood, however, needs to be
managed carefully, since it is difficult to distinguish
wild from cultivated trees. The current registration
system for planted sandalwood administered by the
VDoF may provide the means to allow two distinct
systems of marketing to operate simultaneously. For
example, individuals or organisations that accredit
their plantations at or near establishment may be
permitted to market their product on the international
marketplace, while those without accreditation may
need to market through the regulations set out for
wild-harvested sandalwood.
Growing other sandalwood species
The sandalwood industry in Vanuatu is currently
based on harvesting the only native species, S. austrocaledonicum.
Although seed of S. album has been
planted on Efate with a view to improving Vanuatu’s
place in the international marketplace, further expansion
of plantings of introduced sandalwood species
is contentious, particularly with respect to (a) the
potential impact on the marketing of a Vanuatu
‘branded’ product and (b) the high likelihood of other
species hybridising with S. austrocaledonicum. The
decision to allow the introduction of S. album into
Vanuatu was undertaken without genuine industry
and public consultation. Given the implications of
this decision for both marketing and the biology of
S. austrocaledonicum, it is recommended that this
issue is given greater attention by the Government
of Vanuatu and that a formal review is established to
determine and document the policy position on the
introduction of exotic sandalwood.
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