Guangdong Dianbai: Agarwood Plantings Exceed 160,000 Mu, H1 2026 Whole-Chain Output About ¥4.35 Billion, Chasing a ¥10 Billion Goal

160,000 mu, 100,000 workers, ¥4.35 billion in half a year

According to media reports, on 29 September the CPPCC of Dianbai district, Maoming, Guangdong organised members of its Hong Kong and Macao working groups for a thematic inspection tour on high-quality agarwood industry development. As of end-June 2026 the district had more than 160,000 mu of agarwood under cultivation, over 12,000 business entities and more than 100,000 people employed in the trade. Whole-chain output value in the first half of 2026 reached about ¥4.35 billion, of which primary production accounted for roughly ¥969 million, with a catalogue of more than a hundred products across seven categories including daily chemicals, crafts, incense sticks, tea and fragrance compounds. The industry is accelerating toward an annual output target of ¥10 billion. Dianbai's agarwood cultivation dates back to the Sui and Tang dynasties, more than 1,500 years ago, earning it the reputation of "China's home of agarwood."

Four priorities along the chain, from seedlings to fragrance compounds

The delegation visited the Heli village planting base in Guanzhu town, the Heli village rural collective company, the Shadong agarwood centre, the Weidu bead factory and Guangdong Xinhong Chenxiang Agriculture Co., covering seedling breeding, technology breakthroughs, market operations and fine processing. Four priorities emerged: strengthen technology enablement, close the deep-processing gap and grow stronger market players; deepen market order rectification and the industry standards system, raise the credibility of the agarwood testing centre and speed up key platform construction; mine the cultural depth of agarwood and refine the integrated "culture + experience + consumption" model; and leverage Hong Kong and Macao platforms to widen sales channels in the Greater Bay Area and overseas.

Competition shifts from yield to standards

Nationally, the logic of competition among producing regions is changing. Consumers now demand verifiable aroma quality, raw-material traceability and fair pricing, pushing the industry from "telling stories" to "setting standards"; at the planting end the question has moved from "any resin will do" to "only good resin is worth money." Whether growers and operators reach high value-added segments now depends on three capabilities: resin quality and standardised grading, testing and traceability systems, and branding plus distribution. One further caution: all Aquilaria species are listed in CITES Appendix II and China's native Aquilaria sinensis is a Class II protected wild plant, so processing and cross-border movement must carry the correct permits.

(This is industry observation and popular-science summary, not investment advice. Buy agarwood through legal channels with traceable, testable sources.)