Malaysian agarwood

Malaysia's agarwood geography comes in two parts: Peninsular Malaysia on the mainland, and Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo, the island covered from the Indonesian side in Indonesian agarwood. That split runs through the species, the permit system and the history of the trade, which makes Malaysia one of the more complex origins in this hub.

Karas and gaharu: Malaysia's names for agarwood

In Malay, the tree is generally called karas, which is also the standard Malaysian trade name for Aquilaria timber, while the resinous agarwood is called gaharu, the same word used in Indonesia. Many local variants exist, including chandan, depu and names built on karas such as karas gunung, "mountain karas," for Aquilaria rostrata.

The species: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo

A TRAFFIC review counts seven Aquilaria species native to Malaysia, among around 19 agarwood-producing species from several genera across the country. Five Aquilaria species are recorded in Peninsular Malaysia: A. malaccensis, A. microcarpa, A. hirta, A. beccariana and A. rostrata. A. malaccensis is the main traded species and also occurs in Sabah and Sarawak, where at least three other Aquilaria species are recorded.

Distribution within the Peninsula is uneven. A. hirta, for example, grows on hill slopes up to about 300 metres on the east coast, especially in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and eastern Johor. The genus background is in Aquilaria vs Gyrinops.

Aquilaria rostrata: a species found again

Aquilaria rostrata is endemic to Peninsular Malaysia and has one of the more unusual stories in this hub. It was first collected in 1911 by the botanist H. N. Ridley at Gunung Tahan in Pahang, and for about a century it was not recorded again. Around 2015, a team from Universiti Putra Malaysia led by Rozi Mohamed, working with Terengganu forestry rangers, found it at Gunung Tebu in Besut, Terengganu, at about 700 metres.

The species was assessed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2018. Its standing as a separate species is not entirely settled: some botanists have suggested it may be the same as A. malaccensis. It plays no meaningful part in the trade, but it is a useful reminder of how little is known about some agarwood species.

How agarwood is harvested in Malaysia

TRAFFIC's review found that felling the whole tree is the most commonly reported way agarwood is harvested in Malaysia. Less damaging methods exist: A. malaccensis can regrow from a cut stump, and Orang Asli collectors in Peninsular Malaysia are reported to practise a sub-lethal harvest, returning to the same trees every two to three months.

In Sarawak, the record shows how quickly stocks can go. Gaharu collecting trips from longhouses in the Ulu Baram in the late 1970s were described at the time as destructive, lowland stocks in Sarawak were reported exhausted by about 1980, and by the mid 1980s Penan collectors were gathering gaharu deeper in the forest for trade with outside middlemen.

Permits and quotas

Malaysia's agarwood exports are managed by two CITES authorities: the Malaysian Timber Industry Board for Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah, and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation for Sarawak. In 2007 the national export quota for agarwood chips and powder was 200,000 kg, split as 180,000 kg for Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and 20,000 kg for Sarawak. In 2008 it fell to 170 tonnes and 10 tonnes respectively. Quotas change over time, so check the current CITES quota list for today's figures.

State rules add another layer. In Sabah, A. malaccensis became a "prohibited species" from 2 January 2004, to be retained inside Forest Reserves rather than felled, and in Sarawak it is listed as a protected plant. The international framework is covered in agarwood and CITES explained.

Wild harvest and conservation

Malaysia is one of the main sources of agarwood chips and powder in global trade, and wild trees have historically supplied much of it. Analysis of CITES and customs data from 2010 to 2020 found that about 57 percent of A. malaccensis in international trade came from the wild, across all exporting countries. A. malaccensis is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Reliance on wild trees makes sustainable harvest levels harder to judge than in origins that have moved further toward plantations, a trend covered in wild vs plantation agarwood.

Malaysian agarwood in the market today

For buyers, Malaysian origin claims, whether Peninsular, Sabah or Sarawak, sit in a part of the trade where wild material has played a large role. That makes documentation of plantation sourcing and export permits especially worth asking for. See questions to ask before you buy oud.