WITH sandalwood hardly available for the “attar” or “itr” distilleries in Kannauj, the “perfume capital of India” might lose its status in the next few years.
People in the business say only those with the “right connections” can procure sandalwood now, that too for Rs 50,000 a kilo.
Kannauj, an historic town around 75 km off Kanpur on the Delhi-Kanpur national highway, at one point of time stood at par with Grasse, of France, the birthplace of modern perfumery. It is now lagging far, far behind.
Of 21 sandalwood oil distilleries, 19 have shut down, while the remaining are functioning with cheaper African wood.
And every perfumery owner is now into a second business for a living.
Virendra Dixit, the owner of Pandit Chandrabali Sandalwood Distillery, one of the oldest, blamed it on the “shortsighted policies of successive governments”.
“The governments paid no heed to the exhaustive import of sandalwood. Not a single effort was made to increase the area cultivation, which was limited, or and improve the production,” he said.
Dixit, who is also president of The Perfumer’s Association, said the government has imposed 16 per cent excise duty on sandalwood and 10 per cent on other perfumes, thus forcing the collapse of surviving distilleries.
He added that sandalwood oil, which was available for Rs 7,000 to 8,000 about 10 years ago, comes for no less than Rs 50,000 now, and the profit margin per kg is between Rs 200 and 1,000. “Why would a person invest lakhs to earn a few hundreds,” he questioned.
Another perfumery owner, Sheikh Abdul Rauf, said, “The situation was still better during bandit Veerappan’s reign, as the price ranged between Rs 20,000 and 25,000. The day the government took over, the price doubled.” “There is no life left in the industry. We don’t feel like working any more,” said Rauf.
He said many people have closed down their units and have moved out of Kannauj.
On alternatives for sandalwood oil, he said people are using liquid paraffin and other synthetic products costing between Rs 100 and 150 per kg.
“About 90-95 per cent of perfume products (attar) were consumed by gutkha and paan masala manufacturers for the aroma of cigarettes and chewing tobacco. But the chemical-based perfumes adversely affect the health of consumers. So that has also stopped,” he said.
Another perfumery owner, Mohammed Yaseen, said the attar market is very limited as it’s an expensive item with prices ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 10 lakh per kg.