Creating commercial value for trees planted:

Sadaharitha Plantations diversifies activities

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Sadaharitha Plantations Ltd., which offered the public a different investment opportunity will embark on a Sandalwood Plantation Project diversifying its business activities by creating commercial value for trees planted.

The company is one of the market leaders in the tree cultivation sector and with it diversifying its activities from teak plantation to sandalwood, the public will have an investment opportunity with better returns, Sadaharitha Plantation Ltd. Chairman Sathis Nawarathne told Daily News Business.

“We are a major business entity in the plantation sector with a number of branches spread over the country. These branches record substantial profits by producing Teak, Mahogani and other economic plantations simultaneously protecting the environment.

The company has embarked on the Sandalwood plantation to diversify its business portfolio targeting the high-end market. It has earmarked to export the produce within the region,” he said.

There is a big demand for Sri Lanka’s Sandalwood in the world market as Indian resources are scarce. This is an advantage for the country and we need to exploit market opportunities to capture new markets.

It is important to be price competitive with a product that has a high market value, he said. The company’s objective is to provide the public with an investment opportunity and to contribute to the sustainable development of the economy.

It is also aimed at creating job opportunities. Over 500 direct and 500 indirect employment opportunities were created by the Teak plantation project. The company is working towards attracting public involvement to develop forests and also to protect the natural forest cover in the country, he said.

Sadaharitha Plantations Ltd., having commenced operations in 2002 has over 1,000 acres of Teak and more than 100 acres of Sandalwood plantation with plans to increase the acreage in the near future.