Growing ‘The Wood of The Gods’: Agarwood Production in Southeast Asia - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 236

12.3 Agarwood: Its History and Its Uses

Agarwood is resin impregnated wood produced by a number of Aquilaria and
Gyrinops species (Thymelaeaceae). There are 25 different species found in
Southeast Asia. Not all species are found in all Southeast Asian countries. The most
important species are Aquilaria malaccensis , Aquilaria crassna , Aquilaria sinensis ,
Aquilaria rugosa (Santisuk 2007). The trees occur from near sea level altitude up
to about 1,500 m above sea level (depending on species). It is a large evergreen tree
that can reach a height of over 30 m and a maximum diameter of over 1 m.
Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Lao DPR and Papua New Guinea are the main
present day producing countries. Recent research is adding new species to the list
of agarwood producing trees, like Gyrinops ledermannii in Papua New Guinea
(Compton and Zich 2002), and Aquilaria rugosa (Kiet et al. 2005). The resin-
impregnated wood is fragrant and, highly valuable as it is rare and in short supply.
This resin is formed as a result of pathological processes. It is also thought that
resin production is a response to fungal infection. Interestingly however, not all
Aquilaria trees produce resin and it is difficult for the inexperienced to judge if a
tree holds agarwood. Cutting the tree down is the only way for many to find out
whether the tree contains agarwood.
Use of agarwood has been reported in many ancient cultures, even though the
history of agarwood use has still to be written. The Egyptians are believed to have
used agarwood incense as part of their death rituals more than 3,000 years ago. It
is also suggested that incense trade was in fact the first international trade route that
existed in history. In Japan, agarwood is said to have arrived with Buddhism. In
Vietnam ancient texts also refer to the use of agarwood in relation to traveling
Buddhist monks. In the colonial literature in Southeast Asia (Indonesia and
Malaysia, agarwood is often mentioned as a very important non-timber forest prod-
uct (see for instance: Schuitemaker 1933; Dunn 1982).
Today the range of agarwood products and their uses is seemingly endless. Solid
pieces of agarwood are highly appreciated as 'natural art' in Japan, Korea and
Taiwan. Craftsmen carve raw pieces of agarwood into beautiful wooden sculptures.
Agarwood is also turned into beads and bracelets. Most of the wood, however, is
processed and either turned into oil which is used in perfumes and other cosmetic
products, or the agarwood chips are ground into powder which is used as the raw
material for incense making. Thin sticks are used to insert into cigarettes in for
example Taiwan. Powder is also used in the production of traditional Chinese and
Korean medicine, and for the preparation of (medicinal) wine and various other
products.
The oil is mainly used in the Arab world where it is in high demand. It is by far
the most precious of essential oils with prices reaching as much as ten times that of
sandalwood oil (obtained from Santalum album and Santalum spicatum ). The larg-
est market for top class incense is Japan with its long tradition in incense making.
Both the Arab countries and Japan are interested in high quality agarwood and
manufacturers in these countries prefer to process the raw material themselves. This
also avoids the mixing of high grade agarwood with wood of lower quality.