Agarwood (Gaharu in Bahasa Malayu OR Ch’en Hsiang in Chinese) is the resinous heartwood occurring in the trees of the genus Aquilaria trees, a fast growing forest tree native to southeast Asia. The trees randomly infected with mold (every 1 trees out of 100 trees) and begin to produce an aromatic resin in response to this attack. As the infection grows, it results in a very rich, dark resin within the heartwood.

Agarwood has been used for centuries as incense, for medicinal purposes and in perfumery. First-grade Agarwood is one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world which could fetch up to US$30,000/kg. Agarwood oil or Oudh and incense are used in the Middle East countries as agar attar for religion purposes, as well as the base oil in the production of new perfumes. Since Oudh in its pure form is non-Alcoholic, it is widely preferred by Muslims. Globally, over 500 high-end perfumes are using Agarwood as one of the main ingredients, Oudh in this case is irreplaceable and it certainly plays a significant role in making branded perfume long-lasting and hence it is very much preferred by many major commercial perfumeries.

Traditionally Agarwood used to be obtained from the jungle but recently the trend has shifted to sustainable commercial planting due to its rarity. Main reason for its rarity is the depletion of the resources in the wild due to heavy exploitation by illegal loggers in recent years which caused by Agarwood’s high fetching value in the international market. It is therefore protected worldwide under CITES since year 2004 as an endangered class, an international convention set to protect endangered species for wild flora and fauna.