The Opportunities and Obstacles in Growing Agarwood
Agarwood is not merely identical with aromatherapy, fragrance or perfume. It is also beneficial to overcome various diseases such as cancer, hepatitis, and asthma. Other efficacies are as aphrodisiac and neural system stimulant. Accordingly, the price of agarwood keeps increasing. Currently, 'superking' agarwood is valued at IDR60-millions and 'teri A' is IDR2-millions per kg. Unfortunately, the population of trees like Aquilaria mallacensis that yield agarwood in the nature has been subsided. It is resulted in the drastic decrease of Indonesian agarwood export quota. In 2007, it was only 50 tonnes per year, compared to 200 tonnes in 2000. In order to fulfill the high market demand, cultivating agarwood seems to be the reasonable solution.