With a sharp reduction in production of sandalwood oil from 4,068.28 kg in 2020-21 to 719 kg in the first six months of the current fiscal year (2023-24), the State-run Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd. (KSDL) is all set to import 90% of its requirement of sandalwood oil (7,000 kg) from Australia for manufacturing its premium brand ‘Mysore Sandal’ soap.
With the company establishing its new manufacturing machinery (at a cost of ₹26 crore) and setting up a new manufacturing plant (₹28 crore) on its premises in Bengaluru, KSDL is geared to expand its production in the coming months.
Jump in sales
The company had been manufacturing nearly 60 products, including soaps, detergents, and cosmetics. With the rise in demand and jump in monthly sales of its products, from ₹115 crore in 2022-23 to ₹130 crore so far in 2023-24, the company needed to import close to 7,000 kg of sandalwood oil in this fiscal year from Australia for meeting the increased production targets, official sources told The Hindu.
The 107-year-old KSDL is the only PSU in the country which has been manufacturing and using sandalwood oil, which is the “fragrant ambassador” for Mysore Sandal Soap. KSDL requires about 600 kg of sandalwood oil for manufacturing its premium brand soap and other products. In 2022-23, it imported 4,000 kg of oil (₹157 crore) from Australia.
Shortage of sandalwood in recent years was the prime reason for stoppage of the manufacture and sale of oil in small bottles by KSDL.
From neighbouring States
Currently, KSDL has been able to manufacture about 10% of its oil requirement from sandalwood transported from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
Forest departments of States would transport wood to the KSDL factory in Mysuru, which is the only factory that distils oil from the wood, on an industrial scale, the sources said.
The PSU is expected to reach a turnover of ₹2,000 crore in 2023-24. It recorded a turnover of ₹1,375 crore in 2022-23 as against ₹1,104 crore in 2021-22, an increase of 25%.
