Guwahati: The Centre has unveiled a roadmap to turn the Northeast’s vast agarwood resources into a globally competitive industry, with a focus on processing, technology, branding and exports rather than merely supplying raw material to international luxury markets.
The roadmap was released at an industry summit on the prospects and export of agarwood oil from India, organised by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and CHEMEXCIL in New Delhi on August 11.
The Northeast accounts for more than 96% of India’s estimated 139.89 million agarwood trees, with Assam alone accounting for around 114.3 million trees and Tripura about 15.15 million. The resource is also found in Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and other northeastern states.
The government is now seeking greater private investment in processing and distillation in the region, along with advanced extraction technology, scientific cultivation, quality standards, traceability and origin branding to capture a larger share of the high-value global oud and fragrance market.
Minister of State for DoNER Sukanta Majumdar called on industry players to invest in the sector, build world-class brands and forge global commercial partnerships.
In a message read out at the summit, DoNER Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said the Northeast must move beyond being a supplier of raw agarwood to becoming “the origin, the standard, the science and the brand of Indian agarwood.”
Scindia outlined five priorities for the industry: building long-term market linkages with farmer producer organisations and clusters; investing in processing and distillation capacity where the resource is grown; developing technology partnerships; establishing standards, certification and traceability; and creating a strong global identity for Indian oud.
The objective, he said, should be to ensure that greater value from the resource stays with growers and communities in the Northeast.
“Khushboo Bhi Humari Ho, Aur Naam Bhi Humara,” Scindia said, underscoring the government’s push to build an Indian identity for agarwood in global markets.
The move comes amid growing international demand for agarwood and oud oil, particularly in Gulf markets, while premium fragrance applications are expanding in Europe, the US and East Asia.
The newly released Roadmap for Agarwood Export Promotion from the North Eastern Region seeks to streamline exports, strengthen market linkages and facilitate regular and compliant trade in agarwood and its value-added products.
Several measures have already been initiated, including an increase in the agarwood export quota, digitisation of Certificates of Origin, resource mapping in Assam and Tripura, validation of inoculum suppliers, and work towards GI registration and standards for agarwood oil.
The government has also supported an Agarwood Cluster Development Project in Assam and Tripura under PM-DevINE and an Agarwood International Trade and Research Centre in Agartala under NEC schemes.
An Agarwood Export Promotion Cell, constituted in May this year, brings together the Commerce Ministry and export promotion councils CHEMEXCIL and SHEFEXIL to focus on exporter facilitation and market development.
The initiative marks a shift from government-led sector development towards an industry-driven export strategy, with the Northeast positioned as the production, processing and branding hub for Indian agarwood and oud.