North East India Prepares to Dominate Global Agarwood Exports

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and CHEMEXCIL recently hosted an industry summit in New Delhi to boost India’s agarwood and oud oil export potential, leveraging the North Eastern Region’s (NER) massive resource base. The NER home to nearly 96.6% of the country’s estimated 139.89 million agarwood trees, led primarily by Assam with 114.3 million trees and Tripura with 15.15 million. Bringing together key leaders across the perfumery, incense, essential oil, scientific, and regulatory sectors, the summit aimed to capitalize on accelerating demand in Gulf markets and expanding premium fragrance applications in Europe, North America, and East Asia, positioning agarwood as a high-value driver for local livelihoods and export growth. A core outcome of the event was the launch of the *Roadmap for Agarwood Export Promotion from the North Eastern Region*, a strategic framework designed to streamline compliant, high-value exports and enhance global market access. Coordinated efforts are already underway, including increased export quotas, digitized Certificates of Origin, comprehensive tree mapping, and progress toward Geographical Indication (GI) registration and quality standards. Backed by government initiatives such as the PM-DevINE Cluster Development Project and Agartala's Agarwood International Trade and Research Centre, the establishment of a dedicated Agarwood Export Promotion Cell in May 2026 marks a decisive step in transitioning the region from a raw material supplier into a world-renowned origin for value-added Indian agarwood products. $OAL