IFEATWORLD July 2022

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WORLD
MY FAVOURITE • CHINESE CEDARWOOD OIL AND FIRWOOD OIL
BIO-GRANULAR FUEL AND CHARCOAL MADE FROM OIL-EXTRACTED SAWDUST
The fir roots used for oil processing
today are mostly in Fujian, Jiangxi,
Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou Provinces,
where the old roots are still
available and richer in the higher and
deeper mountains. However, as time
goes on, only the old roots in the
higher mountains which are further
away from the villages can be found.
Previously, farmers would find and dig
the tree roots in the mountains close
to their villages but now no old roots
can be found in the mountains near
the villages. Trees were cut down in
the 1960s and 1970s when it was in
a planned economy era when all the
forests were state-owned forest farms
and the trees were heavily felled for
economic construction. After decades
of exposure, the felled roots rotted on
the outside, leaving behind the centre
of the roots, whose oil-rich core yields
were around 4.2%. All of the roots
are dug out mainly by hand, and this
needs heavy labour, but in Qimen
County of Anhui Province people
now use an excavator to dig the tree
roots for processing the oil, which has
greatly reduced labour costs. However,
the roots whose trunks were newly
cut have a comparatively lower oil
yield of about 2.3%.
CEDARWOOD AND FIRWOOD OIL ANNUAL PRICES FROM 2003 (UNIT: YUAN PER KILO))
Raw Material Cedrene from Firwood Cedrol Cedrene from Cedarwood
2003 12.9 105 31.4
2004 12.5 114 32.6
2005 16.2 98.4 35.1
2006 23.65 90.75 44.25
2007 20.75 80.5 45
2008 25.9 114 46
2009 29.25 122.5 46.3
2010 40.05 132.5 60.65
2011 54 116.5 84.25
2012 43.25 103 77
2013 46.75 121.5 71.75
2014 47.75 134.5 72.5
2015 48.15 127 72.5
2016 69.65 117.5 79.6
2017 63 110 76.75
2018 56.75 111.5 73.5
2019 68.75 118.5 74.25
2020 56.75 109 73.25
2021 63 109 78.5
2022 H1 76 115 86
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