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| Sunday, 17 November 2002 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Over 900 invest in mahogany Over 900 Sri Lankans and foreigners have invested close to Rs. 90 million on mahogany plantations marketed and managed by Touchwood Investments Ltd. (TIL), a public quoted company on the Colombo Stock Exchange. TIL commenced operations in Sri Lanka three years ago "To help stop destruction of rainforest" by growing commercially valuable and environmentally sensitive trees to give financial stability to people for their retirement or children's future needs. The company has been approved by the Board of Investment to plant and harvest 2000 acres of mahogany on a 17.5-year cycle. The type of mahogany grown by TIL is Swietenia Macrophylla (big leaf mahogany), listed among the Top Ten Most Wanted Alive Species in the world by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. TIL purchases abandoned or neglected rubber land, which is planted with mahogany trees which is then offered to the public. The return at maturity per tree can be as high as Rs. 250,000. The company presently has four plantation sites in Ayagama, Eheliyagoda and Matugama areas, totalling 300 acres and containing over 50,000 trees. To meet any contingency, TIL plants extra trees within the customer's plot and additional acreage as buffer stock. Trees can also be insured under a political and agricultural risks policy. The company purchases back the trees from the customer at maturity, at a mutually agreed price. |
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