- Kumar Dharmasena's Pintanna Plantations opens outlets in Nugegoda and UAE
Pintanna Plantations, a company that takes locally-produced oud to the international market as a 100% Sri Lankan product in hopes of boosting the local economy, yesterday (19) opened Pintanna Oud – the first local showroom and shop in Nugegoda.
Earlier this week, the company held a press conference to announce the opening of a brand new showroom dedicated to Sri Lanka’s indigenous Wallapatta (Gyrinops walla), which is used as agarwood or oud. Pintanna Plantations, founded by former umpire and cricketer Kumar Dharmasena, combines knowledge gained through many years of research and generations of experience in the plantation industry. The company is driven by an objective to conquer not only the local market but also the foreign market.
Speaking at the press conference, Dharmasena stated that through a fully transparent process from the cultivation of wallapatta to the production of related products, agarwood has been successfully produced in the Pintanna factory.
Agarwood has been introduced since ancient times as the most expensive and valuable plant in the world. “The reason for this is its rarity and that agarwood has an extraordinary fragrance. Although it is not possible to get this unique smell from every plant, it is an interesting fact that the smell is created using the resin produced in the plant. The aroma is in the plant parts that contain black resin, so natural agarwood oil is extracted using those parts,” he explained.
When talking about how they got into the industry, it was noted that the first line of business started with the cultivation of wallapatta trees, after which, two factories were established for extracting oud oil. The outlet in Nugegoda offers many varieties of oil and chips. Dharmasena noted that all products are natural, organic, and environment friendly.
Speaking at the gathering, Pintanna Plantations Head of Finance and Strategy Kithsiri Wijeyarathne informed the audience that the main market of these wood-related products is in the Middle East, which is why they planned on opening a fully-staffed branch in the UAE as well. This outlet in the UAE will officially be open to the public on 28 January and, according to Wijeyarathne, will be the first Sri Lankan-run outlet retailing their products overseas.
On the topic of the manufacturing process, Wijeyarathne informed us that Pintanna currently owns two oud extracting factories in Ayagama. “The second factory commenced operations last February with the blessing of the Government. The Government grant received by this factory was under the agriculture sector modernisation project,” he stated, adding that the agarwood, which is cultivated on half of the fertile land in the beautiful Ayagama area of Ratnapura District, is used to produce many perfumes, teas, oud spit, mint cosmetic products, and other by-products.
As a man who loves the environment, Dharmasena shared that due to his matured vision and sustainable concept, the full power supply of the Pintanna factory is generated through solar energy. While keeping up with new technology, the water required for the complete process from the agarwood seed to the oil extraction in the factory is utilised from the waterfalls fed by a natural spring in the area, and through the collection of rainwater. “It is for these reasons that Pintanna is the true pioneer in launching totally organic products into the market,” he added.
In 2020, the international market for agarwood oil was valued at $ 136.5 million, and in 2026, experts expect it to reach $ 166.5 million. The reason for this is due to the unlimited demand for agarwood oil as a luxury product in the international market; there is a high demand in the Middle East for wallapatta, a plant of the agarwood genus that is native to Sri Lanka, and this plant is believed to someday carry more value than gold.
Dharmasena further noted that Pintanna Plantations is the only organisation in Sri Lanka that has an export licence and government support to legally provide wallapatta related products to the world market. “Our company is engaged in a successful process from seed to earning dollars, and is now a highly successful conglomerate on a sustainable journey that also owns the first and only agarwood oil extraction plant in Sri Lanka,” he added.
Dharmasena also spoke about their oud brand, Silani, which has already entered the international market. In addition to the showroom that will open in UAE on 28 January, Pintanna is also looking forward to opening Silani oud showrooms in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
Dharmasena stated that he plans to export more Silani products to the market in the year 2023 to obtain the foreign exchange needed by the country, and to add additional value to the wallapatta plant.
PHOTOS PRADEEP DAMBARAGE