US$6b expected from 'gaharu' products annually

GAHARU Berjaya Resources (GaharuBrunei) aims to earn US$6 billion per annum when it sets up a factory manufacturing green tea from gaharu (sandalwood) leaves by mid 2011, its managing director told The Brunei Times yesterday.

Other products that will be manufactured from the gaharu tree include perfume, soap and bath merchandise.

"The reason we want to set up a factory in Brunei is because we want Brunei to be the centre in the world for exporting gaharu products."

"We also want to make 60 per cent of the world's demand for exporting gaharu products, and achieve US$6 billion a year in income," Hj Mohamad Ali Hj Dollah said during a seminar on creating awareness about gaharu to about 50 civil servants at the Business School.

The managing director added that by setting up the factory, it will also create job opportunities for Bruneians.

Expecting its first harvest in two years, the manufacturer will also be producing green tea next year.

"It takes about seven years to harvest the tree, and we already started planting them in Tutong and Temburong in 2007," he said.

He cited Singapore as the current hub for exporting 15 per cent of the world's demand for gaharu, but said Brunei is aiming to be the "future hub".

"Singapore has been a hub over the past 50 years in exporting gaharu products, where their income from exporting is US$1.2 billion a year. But our target is to be the future hub for exporting gaharu," he said.

Hj Mohamad Ali added, "Our target is to plant one million gaharu trees by the end of seven years. In order to realise the goal, we have already established a joint venture with a Malaysian and Indonesian companies to help us plant the trees there, and once it is ready for harvesting, then they will bring the (end-products) here."

To help the company achieve its goal in placing Brunei on the map as gaharu's world exporter, the managing director encouraged the public to plant the tree wherever possible. "Our project is to commercialise the gaharu tree, and we want the public to plant it anywhere possible. We know that Brunei has land, and people can even plant it around their houses and around government buildings," he said, adding that their target is to also make gaharu the "product of Brunei".

He explained that the company will travel around the Sultanate to maintain the trees every three months.

In a previous report, he said the purchasing price of one tree costs about $500 to $800, whereas the seedlings are priced at $15 each.

He pointed out he was pleased to note that more than 10,000 gaharu trees have been planted around the four districts this year.

The Brunei Times