wood for the treesa review of the agarwood trade in Malaysia

Agarwood is found only in a few Asian tree species which produce resin-impregnated heartwood as a response to wounding or infection. It has been used for centuries as highly-prized perfume, incense and traditional medicine across Asia and the Middle East.

Today, hundreds of tonnes of agarwood are traded each year, involving at least 18 countries. Half of the declared volume in international trade in 2005 originated from Malaysia. International trade in agarwood is regulated through a system of permits by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 

Growth in the population and affluence of consuming markets in Japan, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has seen demand soar over the past 30 years leading to rapidly diminishing stocks in the wild, rising prices and concerns over future supplies. 

Whole trees are normally felled to find the valuable resin deposits but with just 10% of trees naturally infected this is a very inefficient process. Over-exploitation of old-growth trees has led to a reduction in the quality and quantity of agarwood available. Today, seven of the 18 agarwood-producing tree species found in Malaysia are at risk of global extinction.

All too often protected areas are being stripped of their agarwood-bearing trees and the opportunity for a well-managed harvest to provide a sustainable income for local communities is lost

James Compton, TRAFFIC’s Senior Programme Director for Asia

“Better enforcement of protection laws and a move to creating cultivated agarwood to supply the trade are two measures producer countries should urgently consider to help conserve their irreplaceable biodiversity.” 

The report Wood for the Trees: A Review of the Agarwood Trade in Malaysia (PDF, 1.2 MB) reveals that illegal harvesting and a lack of effective management of much of the legal harvest are major causes for concern. 

Foreign collectors entering Malaysia illegally to harvest agarwood, often from protected areas, compound the problem. Despite almost 200 arrests between 1992 and 2005, there appears to have been no decline in the level of illegal harvest in Malaysia. 

“Very often the high market value of agarwood results in organized groups of illegal harvesters spending long periods in protected forest areas,” said TRAFFIC’s Noorainie Awang Anak, co-author of the Malaysian report.

“While in the forest they poach wild animals for food and collect other high-value species for added income.” 

Discrepancies in trade records have also deepened concerns. Between 1995 and 2002, less than half of the agarwood exported from Malaysia had the necessary CITES permits. Peninsular Malaysia’s CITES export quotas are currently (2010) set at 200 tonnes of powder and wood chips per year, from wild sources. 

Malaysia and Indonesia are the largest exporters of agarwood to the UAE, one of the world’s largest agarwood markets. Between 2004 and 2007, reported imports of agarwood chips to the UAE rose from 56 to 162 tonnes, an increase of almost 300 per cent. Analysis of reported CITES trade data also showed that large shipments of agarwood sent from Singapore and India to the UAE listed Malaysia or Indonesia as the origin. 

The reports was released in Nagoya, Japan, during the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). 

Recommendations to ensure sustainable and legal trade in agarwood, and combating illegal and destructive harvesting practices are a means to strengthen the Convention’s Global Strategy on Plant Conservation (GSPC).