Odisha to auction 771 tonnes red sanders this year

The e-auction is expected to fetch around Rs 400 crore for the state exchequer.
Image of red sanders logs used for representational purpose only
Image of red sanders logs used for representational purpose only (Photo | EPS)
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BHUBANESWAR: After earning about Rs 15-20 crore from the sale of red sanders last year, Odisha government is set to go for global auctioning of another 771 tonnes of the wood that were felled during cyclone Titli in 2018 soon.

The e-auction is expected to fetch around Rs 400 crore for the state exchequer. The process will start on October 30 with 35 lots of red sanders opened for international bidding. The stock that remains after the first cycle will be put to auction again in the third and fourth cycles on November 13 and 27 this year.

After the Centre relaxed norms for Odisha to sell red sanders, the export of which is banned in the country, the state government in 2021 initiated process for e-auction of the logs felled by Titli in the Gajapati district. The first round auction was held in multiple cycles between February and March 2023. A total 38 lots, weighing over 800 tonne, were put to e-auction and only three were sold.

“Three lots weighing about 33 tonne were sold in the previous global auction. Each tonne of red sanders fetched about USD 30,000 to 40,000. The lot marked as Grade A fetched the highest value,” said an official from the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited (MSTC).

The central PSU has entered into an agreement with state government’s Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) to facilitate the international bidding platform. However, officials believe that the auction may fetch much more than the previous sale as price of high-grade red sanders sometimes crosses Rs 1 crore per tonne in the international market.

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