Around 2,800 metric tons of precious red sanders logs that is being stored by the Andhra Pradesh government, is up for sale to potential buyers in China, Japan and other parts of Asia.
The logs seized during raids by officials, can be bought via an e-tender or an e-auction.
There are three grades of logs based on the quality of the wood - Grade A is sold for around Rs 1.5 crore per tonne, Grade B for around Rs 55 lakh and and Grade C fetches between Rs 15-35 lakh.
“In the 2015 sale of red sanders through a global tender, we earned Rs 1.5 crore per tonne for the high grade variety. This time, we have a major share of high grade variety. China and Japan are the leading countries to buy the wood which has no domestic value in India," a top forest official told the Times of India.
The wood has a huge demand abroad, especially in China and Japan and grows mainly in the Seshachalam hill ranges spread across Chittoor and Kadapa districts in the Rayalaseema region.
The TOI report adds that forest officials were expecting to earn Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 crore from selling 2,800 mt of wood.
Since red sanders are an endangered species and its sale is banned, the AP government secures a temporary relaxation on the ban, before it puts the logs up for auction.