India's Assam Ships 123 kg of Agarwood Chips to Dubai as Guwahati Airport Becomes a Notified Export Point

Northeast India's "wood of the gods" flies to the Gulf

On October 27, the Chief Minister's Office of Assam announced that 123 kg of agarwood chips from the state had been dispatched to Dubai — a milestone consignment for Northeast India's push to commercialise high-value forest products in global luxury markets. Dubai is a major hub for oud consumption and re-export, giving the cargo onward reach to buyers from Saudi Arabia to Japan. In May this year, India's first legally approved agarwood-chip export (112 kg, worth about Rs 2.35 crore) had already gone to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, proving the chain from cultivation and processing to CITES certification and logistics works end to end.

Regulatory channel expands, but CITES compliance remains the gate

On October 30, India's DGFT issued Notification No. 46/2026 adding Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati, as an export point for agarwood oil, chips and allied products, raising the number of notified points from 12 to 13. Assam holds about 81% of India's agarwood resource and the sector supports more than 50,000 farmers and workers. Aquilaria malaccensis, however, is listed on CITES Appendix II and assessed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, so exports still require a CITES permit plus a DGFT restricted-export licence; annual quotas stand at 151,080 kg of chips/powder and 7,050 kg of oil, all from artificially propagated sources moving through notified ports.

This article is an industry observation and educational summary. It does not constitute any trading or investment advice. Please purchase agarwood through lawful channels and verify traceable, testable sources.