Buying agarwood in Southeast Asia: a guide for travellers

Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia are among the best known agarwood origins in the world, as covered across our Origins & Varieties hub. Buying where the wood comes from is a genuine draw for travellers interested in oud. It also comes with its own risks, and its own rules for bringing what you buy back home.

Buying while travelling

Buying in person lets you smell the wood, feel its weight and look closely at the resin, as covered in buying agarwood online vs in person. The trade-off in busy tourist areas is that some shops serve one-time visitors, who are less likely to know the market or come back with a complaint. Give shops on a tourist circuit a little more scrutiny than you would a specialist dealer.

Vietnam

The Vietnamese word for agarwood is trầm hương, and you will see it on shop signs, often written without accents as "tram huong." Khánh Hòa province, on the south-central coast around Nha Trang, is widely regarded in the domestic trade as one of the country's most important agarwood regions, especially for kỳ nam, the rarest grade. Quality varies widely between shops, so browse several before buying. Vietnam has its own grading vocabulary, covered in Vietnamese agarwood grading, and knowing it helps when you negotiate. Vietnamese agarwood covers the origin itself.

Cambodia

Cambodian oud is one of the most recognised origin names in the agarwood trade, and its oil is often described by enthusiasts as one of the more sought after profiles, as covered in Cambodian agarwood. Scent descriptions vary from person to person, so trust your own nose over the label. As elsewhere, a dealer with an established reputation in the oud trade is generally a safer choice than a general shop that happens to stock agarwood.

Indonesia and Malaysia

Indonesia is widely described as the most species-diverse agarwood producing country and is one of the largest sources in global trade, with both Aquilaria and, in its eastern provinces, Gyrinops, as covered in Indonesian agarwood and Aquilaria vs Gyrinops. Malaysia's agarwood, known locally as gaharu, comes from Aquilaria species, including A. malaccensis, as covered in Malaysian agarwood. "Super" and "double super" grade labels are common in the trade in both countries, and, as everywhere, they are not standardised.

Bringing it home: CITES

All Aquilaria and Gyrinops species are listed in CITES Appendix II, so cross-border trade in agarwood is regulated, as covered in agarwood and CITES explained. CITES Resolution Conf. 13.7 sets out a personal effects allowance for agarwood: up to 1 kg of wood chips, 24 ml of oil and two sets of beads, prayer beads or bracelets per person, without a permit. Larger amounts, or anything bought for resale, generally need a CITES export permit from the country of origin.

Countries are allowed to apply stricter rules than CITES, and some do, both for export and import. Check the current requirements with the customs or CITES authority of the country you are leaving and the one you are entering before you travel.

Practical tips

• Bring the questions from questions to ask before you buy oud.
• Compare several shops before buying, and do the scent and appearance checks yourself.
• Ask for a receipt or invoice that describes what you bought, which helps if customs asks.
• Keep within the personal allowance unless you have confirmed the right export documentation.
• Be wary of very high-value "wild" or "kỳ nam" claims sold to visitors, and of prices far below comparable claims.

Our directory lists suppliers by country, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia, with their sourcing claims flagged as unverified until we can confirm them.