Centre Promotes Agarwood and Agarwood Oil Exports

The Centre steps up efforts to promote agarwood and agarwood oil exports from the North Eastern Region (NER). The government supports value addition and market infrastructure through the Agarwood Cluster Development Project in Assam and Tripura under PM-DevINE, and an Agarwood International Trade and Research Centre operates in Agartala under North Eastern Council schemes.

Agarwood Export Promotion and Conservation Measures:

Dimension	Key Details
Cultivation encouragement	The cultivation of agarwood is encouraged in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
NER share of resource base	The North Eastern Region is home to an estimated 96.6% of India’s agarwood trees.
India estimated stock	India is estimated to have around 139.89 million agarwood trees.
State-wise estimates	Assam accounts for approximately 114.3 million agarwood trees, and Tripura has around 15.15 million agarwood trees.
Other locations in NER	Agarwood resources are found in Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and other northeastern states.
Alternative names	Agarwood is known as Oud, Gaharu, or Agar.
Biological source and products	Agarwood is the resinous aromatic wood of Aquilaria species and is processed into agarwood chips and agar oil.
Uses of agar oil	Agar oil is used in perfumery, incense, and other premium products.
Phytochemicals and compounds	Over 150 phytochemicals are identified in agarwood, including sesquiterpenoids, chromones, and 2-(2-Phenylethyl) chromones (PECs).
Properties mentioned in literature	Scientific literature indicates compounds in agarwood exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-diabetic properties.
Global demand markets	Global demand is particularly strong in Gulf markets, and use in high-value fragrances and related products is expanding in Europe, the United States, and East Asia.
Countries where grown	Agarwood is grown in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, and Bhutan.
Wild maturation time	In the wild, an agarwood tree takes nearly a decade to mature.
Traditional harvest practice	Traditionally, harvesters determine resin presence by cutting trees and inspecting the heartwood.
Conservation listing	Agarwood figures in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Recent CITES-related submission	The Government of India has submitted a Non-Discretionary Finding (NDF) to prevent inclusion of agarwood in the Review of Significant Trade (RST) of the CITES.
Trade regulation mechanism	The NDF enables India to announce a new export quota for agarwood products and derivatives and regulate the trade.
Measures to prevent wild extraction	The government has taken measures to prevent the collection of seeds, seedlings, saplings, and propagules from wild populations, reserved forests, and protected areas.