I have. Fire is always a risk, but somewhat less so for this...

I have. Fire is always a risk, but somewhat less so for this species. Sandalwood are not as explosive as eucalyptus or pine in a plantation situation. The risk is also somewhat attenuated by the scale of TFC's plantations and the way they are laid out. It's not likely that the whole Ord stock can be wiped out as the sites are not a contiguous block.

I hate to be nit-picky, but understory is an issue that can facilitate fire in Indian sandalwood. Sorry Andrix, but sandalwood actually DOES have an understory at certain times in it's growth cycle owing to the hemi-parasitic nature of the species, it has several host trees. But I will concede that overall, for the issues mentioned (chiefly insurance), its not the highest risk to worry about here.

Of all the risks TFC faces, I believe that the production related risks are relatively minimal (at least for the Ord sites). TFC have more than earned their stripes growing this stuff, and I've been watching them do it since 2000. There is a whole lot of embedded IP in this business. The chief risk as I see it is that the sales strategies fail to handle a substantial influx of new sandalwood feedstock into a market that has reached the ultra-high price points it has due to extremely tight supply. This is ultimately an unknown, but shouldn't be a major issue, it just takes some air out of their profits.I have