Why is agarwood the most expensive wood in the world?

With a price even higher than that of gold, agarwood is most certainly the most expensive wood in the world. But even if wood in general is becoming more and more expensive because of deforestation, what explains why this particular wood has such a high price?

Agarwood, what is it?

Also known as calambac, calambour, oud wood, clay wood, aloe wood, agarwood, or even wood of the gods, agarwood is a resinous wood present in the heart of trees belonging to gender Aquilaria. Aquilarias are fast-growing subtropical forest plants, whose populations extend throughout South Asia, but also in the tropical forests of Papua New Guinea. Note that not all aquilarias necessarily contain agarwood.

There are several factors that can influence the production of the resin necessary for the formation of agarwood. The most precious agarwoods are formed especially in the heart of trees Aquilaria crassna when infected with certain types of mold, fungus or bacteria. Like any other organism, the infected tree activates its defense system to ward off these foreign microbes. This defense consists in particular in producing a resin called aloe, agar, jinko, oud or gaharu.

Prior to infection, the heartwood of the tree is odorless, relatively clear and pale in color. However, as the infection progresses, the aromatic resin makes the wood very dense, very dark, and gives it the characteristic strong smell of agarwood. Currently, aquilarias are classified as critically endangered. As such, their exploitation is highly regulated.

What can agarwood be used for?

Yet this resin-encrusted wood is highly valued in Asian cultures for its distinctive smell, and is used in particular for making incense and perfumes. But the use of agarwood is much broader, insofar as it is also attributed various virtues for many diseases and pathologies. Agarwood is therefore used for medicinal purposes by distillation of the resin it contains in order to obtain essential oil. Additionally, many religions use agarwood in their religious ceremonies.

For these reasons, agarwood has been highly coveted for thousands of years. It is therefore not surprising that the trees producing this famous wood have been victims of overexploitation over time, when these are already fairly rare species. So, the main reason why this wood is so expensive is because the demand is very high while the product is extremely scarce. Agarwood prices vary greatly, but prices per kilogram for the most expensive varieties can exceed 50,000 euros. Agarwood essential oils can cost even more.