Production

Red Sanders (Pterocarpusantalinus) is endemic to the forests of Seshachalam, Veligonda, Lankamala and Palakonda Hill ranges of Andhra Pradesh. It is distributed in very limited area of about 5.83 Lakh Ha in the districts of Kadapa, Nellore, Chittoor and Prakasham. Red sanders, a plant species, is valued for its rich red colour and grain pattern and most revered in China and it is called as ‘Zitan’in Chinese. It is very hard, durable (does not develop cracks) and known for its decorative furniture, particularly in China and musical instruments (Shamisen) in Japan.

Red sanders was included in Appendix-II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the year 1995 and in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of endangered species in the year 1997.

CITES in 2012 has permitted one time export of 11,806 MTs of confiscated/seized RS wood from India wherein 8498 MTs was permitted to be exported from Andhra Pradesh. This quota is inclusive of 1998.591 MT of RS Wood sold in Value Added Products (VAP) form during the year 2011 and 233.619 MT during the year 2006. Thus there is a balance of 6285.909 MT of RS Wood available for disposal for export in any form as fixed by CITES.

The D.G.F.T., MoC& I, GOI. (Notification No.47, dt.24.10.2013) permitted AP to export 8498 MTs permitted by the CITES within (6) months i.e., by 31.10.2014 initially and then extended intermittently till 30.04.2019. Further, the DGFT, GoI has extended the export permission up to 31.12.2020 in DGFT Notification no. 56/2015-2020, New Delhi, dt.30.03.2020.

Details of the quantity of RS wood sold and the revenue realized from the quota of 8498 MTs up to Phase-XIII is as shown below: