Have you ever heard of the agarwood tree? For some people the name of the gaharu tree may sound foreign because compared to building houses, this type of tree is used more for the perfume industry, cosmetics, religious equipment, to medicines.

This tree with the Latin name Aquilaria malaccensis is a tree native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Uniquely, high quality agarwood is actually obtained from diseased trees.

Wood that is ready to be used is usually brown and has a distinctive aroma. But before that, the core of the agarwood tree was pale white, odorless, and had no economic value.

It is the help of animals such as ants and fungal infections that cause gaharu trees to change color. In nature, ants that enter a hole in a tree trunk make a wound on the wood and carry various microorganisms, bacteria, and even fungal spores into it.

In this process the ants secrete a liquid which damages the tree and the tree covers the wound with the resulting sap. This process eventually forms gaharu which is ready to be harvested and processed.

Well, agarwood that has changed, contains oil, and has a distinctive fragrance will then be harvested after 5 years for sale. With natural processes that are quite complicated, how much does agarwood cost? Through this article, let's see the full explanation below:

  • Agarwood Wood Prices 2023
  • Characteristics of Good Agarwood
  • Characteristics of Agarwood
  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Agarwood

Agarwood Wood Prices 2023

The long process of processing gaharu in nature makes the price of gaharu wood tend to increase every year. The price of agarwood varies depending on the type. In Indonesia alone, gaharu wood is grouped into 2 qualities, namely sapwood (best quality and kemedangan type (middle to lower quality).

Meanwhile, based on the type of natural form, agarwood is classified into the following 4 types:

  • Resins (BMW)
  • Oil
  • Blocks/Stumps, Chips/flakes, Anchovies, Nuts, and Powder
  • Waste Powder (Product of oil and resin distillation)

For the price itself, low-quality agarwood costs from IDR 350,000 to IDR 8 million per kilogram. Meanwhile, high-quality wood is sold at prices ranging from IDR 25 million to IDR 1.5 billion or $100 thousand. How fantastic!

For those of you who are curious about the price of agarwood and want to buy it, we have summarized the latest price list below:

Good Characteristics of Agarwood

The high price of agarwood is not without reason. Apart from being a limited number, the history of this tree species also adds value. In one of the oldest texts in the world, namely the Sanskrit Veda, agarwood is described as a product with a fragrance of wealth and luxury.

The agarwood tree is highly valued and is widely mentioned in various cultures and religions. One of them is in the Nirvana Sutra where gaharu is referred to as “heavenly wood” because it was used for the cremation of Buddha. In modern times, agarwood has been widely used in everyday life such as aromatherapy for yoga.

On the other hand, if you are going to use it as furniture, the quality of the wood you choose must be of the best quality. Even though the price of agarwood is expensive, many people are still after it and are willing to spend a lot of money. Then what are the characteristics of good agarwood? Here are the characteristics:

  1. Smells good when cut
  2. Their parts are evenly pitch black
  3. Very little tilosis and sludge
  4. It has tucked skin and oval, diffuse, and 2-4 radial multiple pores
  5. Wood pores have an average length of 257 microns with an average diameter of 90 microns with an average frequency of 14 per square mm.
  6. Has no intercellular channels
  7. The average fiber length is 758 microns, the average diameter is 30.8 microns, the average lumen diameter is 22.8 microns, and the average fiber wall thickness is 3.98 microns.
  8. Paratracheal parenchyma is sparse or associated with inserted skin and fusiform parenchyma is present
  9. The heterocellular radii are generally uniseriate with an average height of 212 microns, an average width of 32 microns, and an average frequency of 8.4 per mm.
  10. The perforations are simple, while the recesses between the vessels are alternating yards with radii.

Those are the characteristics of good agarwood that you can make material for luxurious and classy home furniture. Well, if you are looking for housing and are looking for wooden furniture. Check out the list of homes for sale under Rp. 1 billion in Serpong below!

Characteristics of Agarwood

Through the previous points, the price of agarwood and the characteristics of good quality wood have been explained. This time, let's get to know the characteristics of the following agarwood trees:

  1. It has a natural habitat in the interior areas of Kalimantan, Sumatra, Papua and NTT
  2. It can grow to a height of 35 to 40 meters with an average tree diameter of 60 cm
  3. The leaves are pointed or tapered at the ends and have oval fruit about 3-5 cm long.
  4. The fruit of the gaharu tree is reddish in color with a rather hairy skin surface
  5. It has a strong aroma and a thick black sapwood that is evenly distributed on high-quality agarwood
  6. Agarwood tree trunks tend to be straight, hardwood, and not buttressed.
  7. Agarwood bark is whitish brown with a smooth texture with horizontal tree branches.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Agarwood

Even though the price of agarwood is very expensive, just like any other tree, agarwood also has several advantages and disadvantages, including:

1. Advantages of Agarwood

  • The appearance of the fiber on the gaharu stem has unique strokes that give it a luxurious impression when used as furniture
  • It has a heavy weight and a hard texture so it lasts a long time when it is processed into furniture
  • The distinctive aroma given off by agarwood is able to ward off termites and other pests
  • Resistant to weather changes so it is not easily damaged and weathered compared to other wood.

2. Lack of Agarwood

  • The natural manufacturing process for gaharu takes a very long time, namely 25 years, so it is quite rare. But now there are many agarwood cultivations that start injecting mushrooms at the age of the tree 5 years so that the harvest is faster.
  • Because the quantity of agarwood is not much, the price continues to soar and reaches billions of rupiah
  • After being processed into furniture, agarwood is difficult to move because of its heavy weight.