THE TRADE AND USE
OF AGARWOOD(OUDH) IN THE
UNITED ARAB
EMIRATESMARINA ANTONOPOULOU,JAMES COMPTON,LISA S. PERRY ANDRAZAN AL-MUBARAKA REPORTCOMMISSIONED BY THE CITES SECRETARIAT

Published by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia© 2010 The CITES Secretariat.
All rights reserved.
All material appearing in this publication is copyrighted
and may be reproduced with permission. Any reproduction
in full or in part of this publication must credit the
CITES Secretariat as the copyright owner.
This report was commissioned by the CITES Secretariat.
The views of the authors expressed in this publication do
not however necessarily reflect those of the CITES Secretariat.
The geographical designations employed in this publication,and the presentation of the material, do not imply theexpression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the
CITES Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the definitionof its frontiers or boundaries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The TRAFFIC symbol copyright and Registered Trademark
ownership is held by WWF. TRAFFIC is a joint programmeof WWF and IUCN.

Suggested citation: Marina Antonopoulou, James Compton,
Lisa S. Perry and Razan Al-Mubarak (2010). The trade and useof agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

ISBN 9789833393268
Cover: Agarwood buyer in specialised agarwood retail outlet in Dubai
Photograph credit: James Compton/TRAFFICThe trade and use of agarwood (Oudh)in the United Arab Emirates
Marina Antonopoulou, James Compton, Lisa S. Perry and Razan Al-Mubarak

James Compton/TRAFFIC

A report commissioned by the CITES Secretariat

Agarwood pieces are usually burnt on charcoal in a brazier

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

iii

GLOSSARYiv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYv

BACKGROUND and INTRODUCTION

1Regulatory framework in the UAE
Responsible authorities for the implementation and enforcement of CITES
Current UAE Reservation on Aquilaria/Gyrinops spp.

3
4
5

METHODS

6

RESULTS

8

Official data on imports / re-exports
Trade dynamics
Trends in sources of supply
How agarwood is sourced for the UAE market
Re-exports
Market structure
Grading and processing of agarwood products
Agarwood products in the retail market
Consumer groups and profiles
Future perspectives

8
9
19
22
22
24
27
32
35
37

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

40RECOMMENDATIONS42

REFERENCES

43

ANNEXES44

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report could not have been compiled without the contributions of many diverse and knowledgeable
individuals, many of whom prefer to remain anonymous. It would not have come about without contacts
that were made at the First International Agarwood Conference, organised by The Rainforest ProjectFoundation in Viet Nam in 2003. Support and interest from participants at that meeting, namely through
Dr Kanwal Deep and Mr Jyotibrata Mitra, led to a greater understanding of the historical role played byIndia in supplying the UAE market. Understanding the nature of the present-day UAE market and thecharacteristics of Middle East cultural demand was facilitated greatly by Mr Mohd. Amiruddin Ajmal, Mr
Abdullah Ajmal and their staff; and Mr Ahmed Kamal Chowdhury and his extended family. Site visits innorth-east India were made possible by the enthusiasm and hospitality of Mr Syed Abdul Quavi and Mr
Sirajuddin Ajmal.
The information detailed in this document was collected over a protracted series of consultations withpeople involved in various aspects of the agarwood industry – growers, processors, traders, company
directors, government regulatory officials and end-consumers. A great variety of people gave willingly of
their time, while others were unwaveringly polite in answering the persistent requests for information about
this fascinating trade in a unique aromatic wood.
The authors would like to thank the staff of the UAE CITES Management Authorities: Mr Abdulnasser Al
Shamsi and Mr Khalfan Abdulaziz Al Suwaidi of the Federal Environment Agency; Ms Muna Omran Al
Shamsi of the Ministry of Environment and Water, as well as Dr El Sayed Ahmed (formerly of the Ministryof Environment and Water). From the UAE CITES Scientific Authority, Mr Abdul-Rab Al Hamiri and
Mr Pritpal Soorae of the Environment Authority, Abu Dhabi, are particularly thanked for their assistancein compiling and cross-checking trade data*. Peer review comments from the UAE CITES officials,
Anders Jensen, Milena Sosa Schmidt and Steven Broad have improved earlier drafts of this report.
The authors would also like to thank the Emirates Wildlife Society and WWF in the UAE for the excellent
support and collaboration in organising and facilitation of much of the research that led to this report, inparticular: Lisa S. Perry, Razan Al-Mubarak, Dr Frederic Launay, Rashmi De Roy and Shahbaz Ahmed.
From TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Puan Noorainie Awang Anak is thanked for her interest in this project, andfor dealing with many agarwood-related enquiries; while the data analysis and graphic representation was
done by Sandrine Pantel. Additionally, TRAFFIC's Azrina Abdullah, Chris Shepherd, Elizabeth John,
Richard Thomas and Julie Gray are thanked for their support.
This report was commissioned by the CITES Secretariat (under CITES Project S-252).

* The UAE has recently re-organised its CITES Authorities, and the updated personnel and institutions responsible for thesematters can be found at http://www.cites.org/cms/index.php/lang-en/component/ncd/?country=AE

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emiratesiii

GLOSSARY
Agarwood Products
Attars = Oil based Arabian perfumes with different blends of ingredients such as: agarwood, saffron, musk,
amber, sandalwood
Bakhoor = Agarwood powder or shavings mixed with other scents and aromatic woods to be burnt
Dihn al oudh = Agarwood oil
Jedid = Old
Kadim = New
Maliki = royal
Mukhalat = Blended fragrances of agarwood, amber, sandalwood and other
Oudh = Raw agarwood in form of chips
Seufi = sword
Toula = traditional unit of measurement which equals approximately to 11.62 grams, which is applied toboth wood chips and agarwood oil, as well as to blended products.

Abbreviations
DED = Department of Economic Development of Dubai Government
DCCI = Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry
EAD – Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi, the CITES Scientific Authority of the UAE
FEA – Federal Environment Agency, based in Abu Dhabi, which houses one of two CITES Management
Authorities in the UAE
GCC – Gulf Co-Operation Council, created in 1981, comprising the sovereign States of Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A GCC Common Market was createdin January 2008.
HSC= Harmonised System of Coding
MAF – Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (superseded in 2006 by Ministry of Environment and Water)
MEW – Ministry of Environment and Water, based in Dubai, which houses one of two CITESManagement Authorities in the UAE

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emiratesiv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Known in Arabic as oudh, agarwood is an important part of life in the UAE for Emiratis as well as Arabic
culture in general. It is used as a traditional aromatic and perfume in many forms: from high grade woodchips burnt by Sheikhs to honour their guests, perfuming personal garments before special occasions andin preparation for prayer, through to providing general household fragrance. It is sold in raw form (woodchips and pieces), as oil (both pure and blended with other fragrances), as perfume products, and invarious forms using small shavings of wood mixed with other fragrant ingredients.
Globally there are two major market regions for agarwood consumption, north-east Asia and the markets
of Taiwan, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, and west Asia or the “Middle East” which centres on the
countries of the Arabian Peninsula. The uses of this resinous wood include medicinal, religious andcultural purposes in various societies across Asia. No agarwood-producing species is known to grow westof India, and yet it has been a traded item within Arab-speaking commerce for over 2000 years, being
sourced from both India and further east into South-east Asia.
Since 2004, when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) began submitting complete CITES Annual Reports1,
its reported imports of agarwood products have been on a steadily increasing trend: for example, importsof agarwood chips alone rose from over 56 tonnes in 2004 to more than 162 tonnes in 2007,
approximately an increase of 300% in a four-year period.
As such the UAE represents, along with Saudi Arabia, the dominant market for agarwood products in the
Middle East. While Saudi Arabia is a significant direct importer from range and trading States in Southeast
Asia, it is also the largest recipient market for agarwood products reported as re-exported from the UAE.
This is generally indicative of the entrepot or re-exporting role that the UAE plays for the Middle East
region regarding the agarwood trade, in addition to its own national consumption.
The market structure for agarwood / oudh trade in the UAE has been largely opaque until now, and remains
highly competitive – for example, there are no registered associations of importers or traders, as there arein other countries. Although there is some trading within the UAE market between wholesalers andretailers, there appears to be very little information exchange between companies.
There are some opinions among industry experts that the overall market for fragrances is changing
rapidly away from traditional agarwood chips and oil, but TRAFFIC’s observations of the persistentavailability of agarwood stocks in various product types confirm an extremely active retail market in the
UAE. Many of the dominant companies have branches in the various department stores and high-end
shopping malls, as well as dedicated shops scattered across Dubai and Abu Dhabi (as well as in othercountries) – and the number of outlets continues to increase as new malls are built and retail shopping
precincts opened.

1 Annual reports were sent to CITES beginning in 1999, but all were not complete since at the time no electronic databasesystem for storing permit data. Once this procedure was set up in 2004, all data was stored electronically (CITES Management
Authority of UAE, in litt.To TRAFFIC, 9 July 2008)

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab EmiratesvThere is, however, a general awareness in the UAE market of the decline in availability of wild stocks fromrange States, both in quantity and quality – but particularly the latter. This reduction in quality is believed
to be due to overexploitation of old-growth agarwood trees in the wild. Addressing this decline inconjunction with range States is the most critical element to ensuring the continuation of this centuries-old
trade, and the cultural use of agarwood in the UAE and across the Middle East.
The fact that the UAE CITES Authorities have called for increased co-operation between agarwood
producer and consumer countries is a positive sign, and putting this into action should be seen as the firstimportant step towards securing mutual understanding between CITES Parties.
With regard to imports and exports, it is not possible to track the changes in the actual volumes, qualities
and products traded over a long period, except through relatively recent reported CITES trade statistics,
and some Customs data, since 2003. The CITES Management Authorities in Abu Dhabi (the Federal
Environment Agency) and Dubai (the Ministry of Environment and Water, formerly the Ministry ofAgriculture and Fisheries) have since 2004 worked in collaboration to improve the UAE’s compliance withannual reporting requirements to the CITES Secretariat and the compilation of trade data at UNEPWCMC.
The collaboration with key enforcement agencies, including Agricultural Quarantine and Customs remains
essential to implementing and enforcing CITES controls and the provisions of the UAE’s Federal Law No.
11. Efforts by the CITES Authorities in working with Customs to establish improved trade monitoring of
CITES-listed species have been increased, but the overall impact from these efforts are as yet unable to beassessed with respect to official records of seizures and prosecutions. However, the increase in registrationof agarwood traders with the CITES Management Authority shows a positive result of raising awarenesswith agarwood companies and traders.
It is important to note that this process of improved monitoring and implementation has taken place withrespect to agarwood trade regulation despite the UAE having taken out a reservation for all Aquilaria(except Aquilaria malaccensis) and Gyrinops species. The UAE’s active participation in the first CITES
Agarwood Experts Group Meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2006 was an extremely positive
step. The UAE’s offer to host a similar meeting in the near future is another positive step towards
resolving concerns related to the status of supply from both wild and cultivated sources, and the questionsof personal effects exemptions and which products should be controlled under CITES.
Based on the research conducted by TRAFFIC in the period 2005-2007, the following recommendations
are made:1). To facilitate further considerations of concerns raised by the UAE in 2002 (at the CITES Asia
Regional Meeting), 2004 (at CITES CoP13) and at the CITES Agarwood Experts Group Meetingin 2006, the UAE is encouraged to work with its neighbouring countries to convene a second
experts’ group meeting in the Middle East prior to CITES CoP15. Such a forum would allow for
issues specific to the Middle East consumer countries to be discussed, and for greater
understanding to be built between producer and consumer countries. Specifically, this proposed
forum would enable implementation of CITES Decision 14.138 which requests Parties to decide
which agarwood products should be under CITES controls, Decision 14.139 on standardized unitsof reporting, and Decision 14.140 regarding production of a glossary of terms specific to agarwood
products in trade and relevant terminology.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emiratesvi2). Monitoring of border checkpoints, particularly Dubai Airport, for CITES-listed specimens
already involves co-operation between CITES, Customs and Quarantine officials. This cooperation should be strengthened, and where possible under UAE law with regard to the existing
CITES Reservation, personal luggage should be monitored as a mode of covert import andre-export for commercial quantities of agarwood products coming through the UAE.
3). To enable ease of monitoring and data analysis, standard units should be used by the UAE
CITES Management Authorities for agarwood products and particularly mass/volume2. It issuggested to use kg for wood chips and powder, and litres for oil and other liquid perfume
products. The UAE’s efforts in this regard should be co-ordinated with other Parties in meeting therecommendations of CITES Decision 14.139.
4). Following more specific HS Codes in use by Customs since July 2006, the cross-referencing ofdata sets held by Dubai Customs and the UAE CITES Authorities will allow for a comparative
analysis of agarwood trade data. This cross-checking should provide a broader understanding of
the UAE’s agarwood trade profile, and how to further improve monitoring of this trade.
5). The UAE has remarked publicly on the need for producer and consumer countries to work
together on management of the global agarwood trade, which is to be commended. Suchcollaboration should also involve re-exporting countries, such as Singapore, to ensure complete
coverage of the trade chain. With regard to the continued predominance of agarwood products
claimed to originate from Cambodia and India in the UAE retail market, and the reports of seizuresof cargoes coming from India without CITES permits, it is recommended that the UAE
communicates directly with these range States to try to resolve the current situation and looks forareas of mutual co-operation.
7). In the UAE itself, the outreach by the CITES Authorities to the agarwood industry has
resulted in an increase in registered traders. Such interactions are encouraged to continue, and formeans to be explored to use the market demand as a component of producer-consumer cooperation towards legal and sustainable trade practices, and the raising of further awareness of
CITES regulations. By taking an inclusive and consultative approach, the relationship between
conservation and sustainable trade concerns can be further explored with agarwood industry
leaders in the private sector in order to maintain their business interests for the long term.
8). Following CITES Decision 14.137, the UAE is encouraged to work with other trading Parties
and the CITES Secretariat to produce identification materials for all forms of traded agarwood
products under CITES control.

2 The UAE's new computerized CITES data management software can be structured to avoid any confusion with units in future(UAE CITES Management Authority, in litt. to TRAFFIC, 9 July, 2008)

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

vii

BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION

Globally there are two major centres of agarwood consumption, north-east Asia and the markets of Taiwan,
Japan, and the Republic of Korea, and west Asia or the “Middle East” which centres on the countries of
the Arabian Peninsula. The uses of this unique resinous wood include medicinal, religious and cultural
purposes in various societies across Asia. No agarwood-producing species is known to grow west of India,
and yet it has been a traded item within Arab-speaking commerce for over 2000 years, being sourced fromboth India and further east into South-east Asia.
Known in Arabic as oudh, agarwood is an important part of life in the UAE for Emiratis as well as Arabic
culture in general. It is used as a traditional aromatic and perfume in many forms: from high grade woodchips burnt by Sheikhs to honour their guests, perfuming personal garments before special occasions andin preparation for prayer, through to providing general household fragrance. It is sold in raw form (woodchips and pieces), as oil (both pure and blended with other fragrances), as perfume products, and invarious forms using small shavings of wood mixed with other fragrant ingredients.

James Compton/TRAFFIC

Within a long tradition of Arabic
perfumery oudh can be traced inancient literature as holding a
special value among other scents.
One of the first references ofagarwood in the Song of Songs,
among descriptions of the perfumes
a bride uses. From the hadiths there
are descriptions that the Prophet
Mohammed liked to use perfumes(Behrens, 1999) and used oudh toincense his clothes, while from thenarratives of the Islamic explorer
Ibn Battutah there are descriptionsof the extensive use of perfumes by
the Arab people in the 13th Century(Genders, 1972). In the famousstories of “A Thousand and One
Nights” there is a short description
on the scents used to perfume thehouses and palaces on special
occasions, including oudh.
The main uses of agarwood / oudh
products by UAE and ethnic Arabcustomers can be summarised asfollows:
Many UAE perfume companies have developed their signature aromas
using agarwood oil, often in very low concentrations

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

Types of Use

Product type1

Types of Use

Body Fragrance

Clothes Fragrance

House fragrance

To receive honoured guests

Product type











Agarwood oil / Dihn al oudh
Arabian perfumes (oil based)
Arabian perfumes, French-style perfumes
Agarwood chips / oudh , bakhoor
Scented chips
Arabian perfumes in sprays
Arabian perfumes, French-style perfumes
Agarwood chips / oudh , bakhoor
Scented Chips
Sprays Agarwood chips / oudh (high qualities are usually used
for special occasions, weddings etc)
 Bakhoor Scented chips

Source: TRAFFIC research

Agarwood, either as pure oil or incense, is an important fragrance for personal devotion, applied on thehair, behind the ears, neck, nostrils, and clothes. Its high price is considered as an indicator of its value asa precious and luxurious product, and the quality of the aroma can be viewed as an indication of status andprestige (Behrens, 1999; Kanafani 1979). Burning agarwood chips in an open brazier is considered anessential customary practice to honour the visit of guests, interwoven into UAE nationals’ lives. In
summary, oudh is seen as a part of the heritage as well as the modern national identity of the UAE.
The UAE is an important import, consumer and re-exporting country within the Middle East agarwood
market, and is connected to other agarwood-consuming countries in the region including Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar.
The persistent and culturally embedded nature of demand for agarwood by end-consumers andcommercial interests in the UAE, as well as concerns over the sustainability of supply, have led to thenational CITES Authorities recognising the importance of a well-managed trade. In August 2002, at the
CITES Asia Regional Meeting, the UAE Government called for producer consumer co-operation in
managing the global agarwood trade, at the time when only one species Aquilaria malaccensis, was listed
in CITES Appendix II. In 2004, when more species were listed under CITES, the UAE stated its public
support for agarwood conservation and sustainable use, but also its concerns over information gaps
regarding wild populations, and the need to consider personal effects exemptions. The UAE subsequently
took out a CITES Reservation on Aquilaria spp. and Gyrinops spp. in January 2005.
The research for this report was carried out under the auspices of CITES Decision 13.63 arising from the13th Conference of the Parties to CITES, which recommended that:
Further field research should be conducted on trade dynamics, including in the major importing
and re-exporting States and territories of Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Middle East.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates2

A deeper understanding of the cultural demand from the UAE, as an indicator for the broader Middle East
market for agarwood, has been lacking up until now. It is hoped that this report will provide additional
insights into how this trade can be better regulated and managed for the benefits of both consumers andproducers.

Regulatory Framework in the UAE
The UAE was an early signatory to CITES, first acceding on 21 November 1974, and remaining Party to
the Convention until 27 January, 1988, when it withdrew. However, this was a temporary situation, as theUAE became a Party to CITES again on 9 May 1990.
National Legislation: The legal framework with regards to the implementation of CITES in the UAE isgoverned by Federal Law No.11 (2002) Concerning Regulating and Controlling the International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This is implemented via the Resolution of the Council of
Ministries No. 22 (2003). On the basis of these legal provisions, the UAE has been assessed as having
legislation that complies with Category 1 of the CITES National Legislation Project, i.e. that it has“legislation that is believed generally to meet the requirements for implementation of CITES”.
Under Federal Law No. 11, there are several clauses particularly relevant to the implementation of CITES
controls for agarwood trade by the UAE. These include:
Article 3, Clause 1 – under General Rules
The import, transit and transhipment, export, re-export and introduction from the sea of any
Specimen of the species listed in the (CITES) Appendices is prohibited when it does not follow thelegal provisions.
Article 6, Clause 1 and 3 – under International Trade and Documents
It shall be impermissible to Export or re-export any specimen from the species included in the(CITES) Appendices unless obtaining prior permission.
It is prohibited to import any sample from the species included in the (CITES) Appendix 2 unlessprior export or re- export permit is obtained.
Article 18 – regarding registration of trade participants
Each practitioner of an activity included in the provisions of this law shall apply for registration
with the management authority according to the terms stated in a ministerial decree and the thisdecree shall identify the type, form of application, the conditions and information necessary forregistration.
Article 26 describes penalties for contravening the regulations for trade in Appendix II specimens, which
include provisions for 3 months in prison, and fines between AED5000-30,000.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

3Article 27 describes penalties for non-registration of trade participants
Whoever bestowed, sold, presented for sale, or displayed any of the specimens included in the
appendices prior being registered in accordance with Article (18) of this law shall be imprisoned
for a period not less than three months, and levied a fine of minimum (5000) five thousand dirham,
and not exceeding (30,000) thirty thousand dirham, or any of these punishments.
International Trade Regulations: For species listed in CITES Appendix II, like those contained in the
agarwood producing genera Aquilaria and Gyrinops, Articles 1, 2 and 6 of Federal Law No. 11 prescribe
the following documents as required by the UAE CITES Management Authority to monitor international
trade:•

Import into the UAE: A prior presentation of an export or re-export permit from the lastre-exporting country is needed in order to obtain permission to import. For CITES Appendix IIlisted species, such as agarwood, prior issuance of a CITES import permit by the UAE is also
required under Federal Law No. 11.

•

Export – Re-export from the UAE: prior issuance of an export or re-export (as pertains to
agarwood) permit from the Management Authority is required.

Responsible Authorities for Implementation and Enforcement of CITES
Two CITES Management Authorities are set with the responsibility of issuing and verifying CITES
permits and monitoring the trade of CITES-listed species. The focal agency at national level is the Federal
Environment Agency, which also plays the CITES Management Authority function for the emirate of Abu
Dhabi. The second CITES Management Authority is the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW –note that formerly this CITES MA was under the ministry previously known as the Ministry of Agriculture
and Fisheries [MAF]) in Dubai, which has responsibility for all Emirates except Abu Dhabi (as stated in
the Resolution of the Council of Ministries No. 22 [2003]. The CITES Scientific Authority for the UAE
is the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.
Under current procedures, annual reports summarising CITES permitted-transactions for import andre-export of agarwood are compiled by the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi for submission to the
CITES Secretariat and for entry into the CITES Trade Database maintained by UNEP-WCMC.
Customs and Agricultural Quarantine [under the Ministry of Environment and Water, formerly Ministry ofAgriculture and Fisheries] are assigned to assist in the implementation of the law at the points ofinternational entry and exit. For Agarwood, most of the import and re-export occurs through the port ofDubai. Two focal points within the CITES Unit team at MoEW in Dubai are assigned with responsibility
for CITES-listed plants and animals, respectively.
Customs is in charge of setting the Custom Import Tariff and allocating commodities trading statistics
based on the Harmonised System of Codes. If the Customs officer detects agarwood imports, they are
required to charge a duty/tariff at 5% of the product’s total value (Customs official, pers. comm. to
TRAFFIC, October 2005). In such cases, reputable agarwood trading companies are called upon toprovide expert advice in estimating the product’s monetary value.
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

4However, UAE CITES officials are concerned that regulating and monitoring agarwood trade is still
considered a minor issue among the breadth of Customs priorities, bearing in mind the magnitude of goods
imported and exported from the UAE. Building capacity of Customs personnel, for example inidentifying CITES-listed species and products such as agarwood, is an ongoing task of the UAE CITES
Authorities.
In July 2006, however, a circular was issued by the Department of Dubai Customs, pursuant to the Ministryof Environment and Water, specifically regarding regulation of agarwood trade (Customs Notice No.
5/2006), which has brought renewed attention to the issue, including the role of Customs in assisting with
implementation of CITES import and re-export controls.
Quarantine officers also play a role in examining cargoes which have the required CITES documentationin order to allow the import or re-export of agarwood products (under Resolution of the Council of
Ministries No. 22, 2003).

Current UAE Reservation on Aquilaria/Gyrinops spp.
At the 13th Conference of the Parties to CITES in 2004, Indonesia proposed listing the remaining speciesof the genus Aquilaria, along with the genus Gyrinops, in Appendix II. After consideration of the
proposal, the UAE issued an Information Document to CoP13 (CoP13 Inf. 54, see full document in Annex
II of this report) which noted its commitment to the principles of sustainable use and mutual benefit which
can be accrued by both producer and consumer states alongside long-term species conservation. The UAE
also acknowledged the efforts of Indonesia to protect Agarwood trees. However, the document also raised
its concerns about several issues to do with implementation of the proposed listing. These concerns
included:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Limited information about wild population status in range States;
Difficulty of controlling trade in various forms of agarwood;
The strong cultural and religious connection with agarwood use;
The need to consider a quantitative limit for personal effects exemptions;
Existing Decisions arising from CoP12 which still required a lot of work to be done;
Previous calls for producer-consumer co-operation by the UAE which had not yet been
acted upon, and the need for formal consultation between trading Parties.;
The possibility of imbalances in the overall trade if some countries chose to exercise theright to take out a Reservation if Indonesia’s proposal was adopted by CoP13.

During the CoP, consultations between agarwood range States and their trading partners were held todiscuss these concerns raised by the UAE. Subsequently, although the proposal by Indonesia was adopted
by majority vote at CoP13, the UAE, along with Kuwait, Qatar and the Syrian Arab Republic, took out a
Reservation against the listing of Aquilaria spp. and Gyrinops spp. This came into force on 12 January
2005, and meant that these four consumer States would effectively trade as a non-Party to CITES for any
continuing trade in Gyrinops spp. and all Aquilaria species except Aquilaria malaccensis, which had been
listed in Appendix II since 1995.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

5However, the UAE has continued to monitor all commercial agarwood shipments imported and exported
from the UAE, adhering to the spirit of Resolution Conf. 4.25 (which has since been revised at CITES
CoP14), which:
CALLS on the Parties having entered reservations nevertheless to maintain and communicate
statistical records on trade in the species concerned, as part of their annual reports, so thatinternational trade in specimens of these species may be properly monitored;
The data collected on agarwood trade has been regularly communicated as part of the UAE’s CITESAnnual Reports, and has provided an increasingly useful data set for this report and other analyses.
No priority effort, however, has been applied to regulating agarwood transported as personal luggage.
Although some seizures and confiscations have occurred at Dubai Airport, no prosecutions have takenplace (Ministry of Environment and Water, pers. comm. to TRAFFIC, November 2007).

METHODS
Under contract to the CITES Secretariat, TRAFFIC worked in collaboration with the CITES Authorities of
the United Arab Emirates, The Emirates Wildlife Society and WWF to compile this report which describes
the trade dynamics and market characteristics of agarwood in the UAE.
Due to the lack of written sources and past studies regarding the agarwood market in the UAE, an
exploratory market-research oriented approach using qualitative analysis was applied aiming to obtain
important information on unidentified issues of the market dynamics (following Kumar et.al., 2002).
The research was divided into two different elements:a) The collection of secondary data:
Secondary information was derived from official trade statistics, previous TRAFFIC reports, webbased research on various companies, newspaper and relevant published articles.
b) The collection of primary data:
Primary data was obtained by means of site visits to retail outlets and interviews with industry
participants in 2005, 2006 and 2007, primarily focused on the major market hub of Dubai. The aimof the interviews was to obtain information from all levels of stakeholders.
The stakeholder groups that were identified are: government personnel, traders (including salesmen, branchmanagers, and company representatives) and end-consumers.

•

Market survey and traders’ interviews
During the research, retail and wholesale shops were visited in different locations of Dubai in orderto obtain a more indicative image of the local trade. During the shop visits, apart fromobservations, researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with the traders. In order to obtain
the information needed, questions were presented under the identity of an academic researcher.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

6

This approach proved to be largely successful, since traders generally seemed to be very sceptical
about giving information for fear of aiding their competitors. At certain cases multiple visits took
place as a way of establishing one kind of trust between the researcher and the interviewees.
Three types of commercial trade location were surveyed.
1.

Shops and outlets in and around major shopping malls:
1.1. Retail trading with local buyers, GCC customers and tourists;
1.2. A small number of shops trading wholesale as well as retail.

2.

Bazaar Stores:
2.1. Usually smaller premises in traditional bazaars and spice markets in Dubai, these venues havelong been the typical location for agarwood/oudh, with the majority of the vendors dealing in both
retail and wholesale quantities. Lower agarwood qualities and direct bargaining are typical bazaar
characteristics.
2.2. Retail: The majority of their customers are from older age groups or with relatively lower
purchasing power, as many of the traders stated. For example, many older women buy agarwood/ oudh powder in order to make home-made bakhoor.
2.3. Wholesale: Mainly customers from other GCC countries

3.

Specialist sections within large department stores:
3.1. Agarwood/oudh is also sold within large department stores that are located in the larger Dubai
shopping malls, and also within fabric shops and tourist stores. These venues usually offer
medium-to-low qualities of agarwood/oudh and a small range of perfumes. There are also
several hotels in Dubai that offer agarwood products in their retail sections.

•Company Representatives:
Several representatives from large, medium and small companies were contacted, from which only
four accepted to meet with the researchers.

•

Governmental Personnel:- Officials from the CITES Authorities of the UAE (in Dubai and Abu Dhabi).
- One official from Dubai Customs- Two officials from the Agricultural Quarantine (Dubai airport)•

Consumers:
In order to obtain a larger sample and a larger rate of responses a written questionnaire lasting 715 minutes was employed. This focused on the nature of agarwood, its products and uses by UAE
or other GCC nationals of different age and sex, thus excluding other consumer groups.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

7

RESULTS
Official data on imports and re-exports
Two official datasets for the imports and re-exports of agarwood were obtained and studied; partial records
the Customs foreign trade statistics (2003-2005) and the CITES permit database of the UAE ascommunicated in CITES Annual Reports.
Customs Foreign trade statistics
The following table shows the categories of the Customs Tariff, including changes in levels of detail since2003, under which agarwood products are classified. The figures for international trade under HS Code1211.9030 for 2003-2004 can be seen in Annex I of this report.
Table 1:
HSC classification of agarwood under the National Tariff

Raw Agarwood
Prior to 2003

Category 1211.90 [Plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits),of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal,
fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh or dried, whether or not cut, crushed
or powdered].

After 2003

Category: 1211.90 30 (Chips and pieces of aloeswood, sandalwood andother aromatic woods)

1-Jul-06

Category 1211.9030 Aloes (wood) resinoids
Agarwood oil

Prior 2003

Category: 3301.30 (Resinoids)

After 2003

Category: 3301.3010 (Aloeswood resinoids)

1-Jul-06

Category 3301.3010 (Aloes oil)

1-Jul-06

Category 3303.0090 (Oriental perfumes packed in containers for retail
sale)

Sources: Customs National tariff 2002 and 2004, Customs Notice No. 5/2006

CITES-UAE permits database
Following a reorganisation of the UAE CITES administration in 2003, the CITES Management Authorities
started to systematically monitor and record trade in CITES-listed species after 2004, following theestablishment of an appropriate system for issuing CITES permits. The data collected for the years 20042006 is in Appendix 3 of this report.
Data Limitations
While the available official data provide an important insight into the trade patterns for agarwood in andout of the UAE, it cannot provide for robust conclusions on volumes and trends of the overall agarwood
trade. The main reasons for this can be summarised as:
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

8

•
•

Customs: Lack of an HSC category exclusively for raw agarwood products prior to July 2006 (after
which data were not yet available to be considered in this report);
CITES: Lack of available recorded data over a period of five years or more;

Trade dynamics

Map prepared by Sandrine Pantel

Figure 1: General Trade flows into, and out from, the UAE, based on reported CITES Trade Data held at UNEPWCMC for the period 1995-2006

Supplies from Range States
According to UAE figures submitted to the UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database, Indonesia andMalaysia are the major range States reported as countries-of-origin for agarwood imported into the UAE.
There are minor levels of trade involving China and Thailand as reported countries-of-origin. Agarwood
cargoes arrive in Dubai from three main points of export: Singapore, India and Malaysia. Agarwood fromIndonesia, an important range State, largely arrives in the UAE as re-export from Singapore.
There are agarwood products, particularly wood chips, sold in the domestic UAE market with attributed
country-of-origin Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. However none of these range
States have ever appeared in the CITES trade database as sources for agarwood in trade to the UAE.
During market research conducted in the UAE, products from a wider range of range States were claimed
as countries-of-origin at the point of sale. The table below shows the number of shops (out of a total
number of 31 shops visited in 2005 and 10 shops in 2007) where agarwood products were sold claiming tobe from the following range States:

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

9

Table 2:
Number of shops visits with products by attributed country-of-origin

Range States (attributed
Countries of Origin)

Number of shops (n=31)
holding stock (2005)

Number of shops (n=10) holding
stock (2007)

Cambodia

29

10

Malaysia

26

3

Indonesia

21

2

India

17

8

Myanmar

14

3

Laos

8

-

Viet Nam

3-

Thailand-1

Source: TRAFFIC Research, 2005-2007

Among the traders and vendors interviewed, a common conclusion was that while Malaysia and Indonesia
were the bulk supply countries, ‘Cambodian’ agarwood was one of the most popular in the market. It is
likely that many of these attributed countries-of-origin function as ‘brand names’ for agarwood ofparticular aroma, appearance and price structure – rather than reflecting accurately the actual country oforigin.
A comparison of records from the UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database over the period 1995-2006,
reported by all countries of export/re-export, versus reported imports into the UAE is below. It should be
noted that these data are based on the UAE’s approved CITES permit data, rather than actual total trade(UAE CITES Management Authority, in litt. to TRAFFIC, 9 July 2008)
Figure 2:
Agarwood (all species) chips (in kg) (re)-exported to UAE (1995-2006), as reported by (re-) exporting
countries
100,000

Indonesia

90,000India

80,000

Malaysia

70,000Singapore

60,000Thailand50,00040,00030,00020,00010,000
1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

10

Figure 3:
Aquilaria and Gyrinops chips (in Kg) imported by UAE, per (re)-exporting country and as declared by UAE (19952006)
100,000

China

90,000Indonesia

80,000India

70,00060,00050,000

Malaysia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Thailand

40,00030,00020,00010,000
2003

2004

2005

2006

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

Examining 1995-2006 totals for the most commonly traded product type, wood chips, there is a discrepancy of over 250t between reported exports to the UAE and the UAE’s own reported imports – largely due
to the fact that 2004 was the first complete Annual Report submitted by the UAE for inclusion in the
UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database3.
Figure 4:
Comparison between Agarwood chips (all Aquilaria in kg4) reported as imported by UAE and reported as (re-)
exported to UAE (1995-2006).

Imported by UAE(re-)exported to UAE-

223,437

497,418

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

3 In the period 1995-2004, UAE CITES permit data was entered manually, and in some cases permit records were notavailable when Annual Reports were compiled.This has been resolved since 20004 (UAE CITES Management Authority, in litt. to
TRAFFIC, 9 July, 2008)
4 In addition to all Aquilaria imports, the UAE reported imports of 7396kg of Gyrinops spp. in 2006.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

11

If the data comparison for reported trade in wood chips is limited to the period 2004-2006, thediscrepancy is reduced to less than 20t. Other lesser discrepancies are likely due to non-uniform times oftrade data submission by various CITES Parties.
Figure 5:
Aquilaria Chips (in kg) (2004-2006)

Imported by UAE

221,309(re-)exported to UAE

202,593-

50,000100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

Overall, the trend in reported imports by the UAE is increasing with regard to agarwood chips, as
illustrated below:
Figure 6:
Aquilaria & Gyrinops chips (in Kg) imported by UAE, as declared by UAE (1995-2007)

180,000

162,603.96

160,000
140,000
120,000

106,639

100,000
80,00065,60356,46460,00040,00020,000

2,128

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

12

Direct Trade versus Entrepots
Based on the UAE CITES permit records, combined with the responses from the traders and salesmeninterviewed, it is clear that Singapore functions as the major trade hub for agarwood cargoes entering theUAE. The majority of the traders interviewed mentioned Singapore as their main source of agarwood
procurement, although reports of trading directly with range States were also common [particularly
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand (through Bangkok)]. Several interviewees, with reference to Singapore,
mentioned that the same merchants supply several different companies in the UAE, and that these
suppliers are ethnic Chinese traders. Bangkok was reported to function as a secondary trade hub for
agarwood, with four interviewed vendors mentioned it as a point of acquisition. These reports concur withdirect observations and interviews conducted by TRAFFIC with trade participants in both Bangkok andSingapore in the period 2004-2008.
The next table shows the geographic location of agarwood acquisition according to the interviewees:
Table 3:
Geographic Location of agarwood procurement

Geographic Location for acquisition

Number of shops (n=31)

Singapore

22

Range Countries (e.g. Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand etc)

18

Within UAE (mainly Dubai)

6

Bangkok

4

Source: TRAFFIC Research 2005

James Copmton/TRAFFIC

Singapore’s standing as thepreferredplaceofprocurement was reportedly
due to its established role as atrade hub, hosting a large
number of traders andavailable products. During
theinterviewsnoexplanations were given onthedegreeofthecontemporaryeaseofobtaining agarwood fromSingapore compared withdirect supply from range
States.

Agarwood awaiting re-export from Singapore

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

Trade data from the UNEPWCMC
CITES
Trade

13

Database also bears out the importance of Singapore as a primary place of re-export to the UAE. The
following tables illustrate the trade dynamics between Singapore and the UAE, based on the period 20042006 for which CITES trade records from both countries have been submitted to UNEP-WCMC.
Table 4:
Country of Origin of Aquilaria spp. products (in kg) imported by the UAE from Singapore, as declared by UAE(2004-2006)

Sum of (Re-) Export Quantity

OriginTaxon(Re-) Export Term

Aquilaria filaria

chips

22 593257

Aquilaria malaccensis

chips

277 158

94 743

logs

1046

1046

oil

6

6

powder5867

5867

timber2609

timber pieces

177

Grand Total

Indonesia

309 455

Malaysia Thailand Viet Nam

Grand Total
22 850155

273

372 330

47

2656
177

95 047155273

404 930

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

Table 5:
Origin of Aquilaria spp. products (in kg) (re-)exported by Singapore to the UAE, as declared by Singapore (19952006)

Count of (Re-) Export Source
Taxon(Re-) Export Term

Aquilaria filaria
Aquilaria malaccensis(Re-) Export Source
Pre-Convention

Wild

Grand Total

chips

2

1

3

chips

4

4

8

logs

1

oil

1
1

1

powder1

1

timber pieces11Grand Total

9

6

15

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

Although Aquilaria malaccensis was listed in Appendix II in 1995, Singapore exported 12 cargoes of A.
malaccensis between 2004-2006 which were declared as pre-Convention stock, and similarly for 3 cargoesof A. filaria.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

14

Table 6:
Source of Aquilaria spp. products (re-)exported by Singapore, as declared by Singapore (number of cases) (20042006)

Count of (Re-) Export Source(Re-) Export Source

Taxon(Re-) Export Term

Pre-Convention

Wild

Grand Total

Aquilaria filaria

chips

2

1

3

Aquilaria malaccensis

chips

4

4

8

logs

1

1

oil

1

1

powder1

1

timber pieces11Grand Total

9

6

15

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

Based on the UNEP-WCMC CITES trade database, all recorded imports into the UAE of agarwood
re-exported from Singapore were either reported as country-of-origin Indonesia or Malaysia, with bothcountries exporting lesser amounts as direct trade with the UAE than what is re-exported via Singapore.
Product types
CITES permit data show the majority of agarwood arriving in the UAE takes the form of wood chips, withother categories of logs, powder, timber and timber pieces also appearing in the trade records in lesser
quantities.
Table 7:Re)-exported to the UAE (Aquilaria species, 1995-2006), as declared by (re-) exporting countries

Country of (re-) export(Re-) Export Term (Re-) Export Unit Indonesia

India

Malaysia Singapore Thailand Grand Total

Chips

kg

31 45265 022

Logs

kg

Oil

kg / litre

Powder

kg

5600

5867

11 467

Timber

kg

787

2656

3443

timber pieces

kg

177

177

Total

5756

395 180

9

1046
112

5756

37 83965 0226404 930

497 418
1046

1

11

119

513 555

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

Agarwood oil seldom appears in CITES trade data in terms of reported exports to, or reported imports by,
the UAE – with the exceptions being small quantities from Pakistan and Singapore, and a reported exportof 112 litres by Malaysia to the UAE in 2006.
Import records were obtained for agarwood oil from the Dubai Customs database for 2003-2004 under thecode for Aloeswood Resinoids (HSC: 3301.3010). The table below shows the quantities of oil reported asimported to the UAE in 2003 and 2004 by exporting countries.
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

15

Table 8:
Agarwood oil volumes of import by exporting country

Exporting Countries

Reported Imports (Kg)
2003

2004

France

10

477

India

10

-

Indonesia

46

-

USA

15

-

Total

81

477

Source: Dubai Customs

The appearance of France and the USA in these Customs records is unusual, although France reported
imports of 60kg of agarwood powder and 2 litres of agarwood oil in 2005 and 2006 respectively in its
CITES Annual Reports. Based on discussions with UAE industry participants, it was reported as possiblethat the French oil could be reconstituted oil (containing other aromatic plant oils such as sandalwood,
laburnum and patchouli), while the US oil could possibly be synthetic agarwood oil from aroma-chemical
manufacturers.
However, the UAE is a significant re-exporter of agarwood oil (and products containing agarwood oil invarious concentrations), reporting 12,565kg of re-exports in the period 2004-2006, mostly to Saudi Arabia.
In addition, finished products containing various concentrations of agarwood oil accounted for re-exportsof 255 litres of oil during that same period. There were only 7kg of imports reported by the UAE in thatthree-year period (from Singapore and Thailand), as well as 5 litres imported from Pakistan, while
Malaysia reported exports of 112 litres of agarwood oil to the UAE in 2006. UAE’s re-exports are noted
as country of origin Malaysia, but it is important to note that such quantities may indicate a significant
amount of processing from wood to oil done in the UAE, or alternatively a large amount of unreported
imports of agarwood oil (see Section 10.2 for further discussion on the significance of this segment of the
trade).
Figure 7:
Re-exports of agarwood oil (and oil-based perfume products) (in kg) reported by the UAE compared toreported (re-)exports of agarwood oil to the UAE

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

16

Figure 8:
Re-exports of agarwood oil (and oil-based perfume products) (in litres) reported by the UAE compared toreported (re)-exports of agarwood oil to the UAE

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

During TRAFFIC’s market research in the UAE, the following variety of major agarwood product types
were found on sale classified by attributed countries-of-origin:
Table 9:Product types by Attributed Country-of-origin found in retail outlets

Attributed Country of Origin

Product TypeIndia

Oil/chips

Cambodia

Chips/oil

Malaysia

Chips/oilIndonesia

Chips/oil

Laos

Chips/oil (few examples)

Viet Nam

Chips (few examples)

Myanmar

Chips/oilThailand

Chips (few examples)

Source: TRAFFIC Research 2005-2007

Artificially propagated or cultivated sources
At least one company operational in the UAE claimed it provided the market with plantation-grown
agarwood, as well as agarwood oil derived from this source. However, figures from the UAE CITES
permit records, no imports of agarwood products are recorded from plantation or cultivated stocks (CITES
source code A) until 2007, when the UAE recorded imports of agarwood from Thailand (23kg oil, 115kg
chips) and Viet Nam (8 litres of oil).

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

17

Adulterated or fake products
There were many reports of adulterated, artificial or fake agarwood products in the UAE market in
discussion with industry participants. Two main types of fake agarwood were consistently described:a) Low quality agarwood painted with a small layer of agarwood powder/shavings mixed with wax andother material, followed by a heating procedure;b) Low quality agarwood, or substitute wood, is impregnated with a liquid mix of agarwood oil andalcohol. This product already has a market niche in the UAE, despite its low quality, and is often described
as “BMW” (black magic wood) in the trade from South-east Asia. One UAE vendor explained that thealcohol facilitates the liquid to spread evenly to the whole of the body of the wooden piece. Sources forthese products attributed to Indonesia (75%) and Malaysia (25%). This process was verified to TRAFFIC
by Singapore-based traders who manufacture this “BMW” in Indonesia (mostly in Surabaya and Jakarta).

James Compton/TRAFFIC‘BMW’ and lower-cost agarwood products have an existing market niche in UAE for use by family
households, for example in masking cooking aromas.

Low grade ‘black magic wood’ or BMW chips

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

18

Agarwood Imports by Species
The only data source with reference to records for individual agarwood-producing species is the CITES
trade database, which becomes more diverse after 2005 when species other than A. malaccensis were
subject to CITES provisions following additional listings agreed by Parties at CITES CoP13 in 2004.
Table 10:Agarwood chips in kg, based on reported imports by UAE, classified by species

Year of import (chips in kg)

Taxon
2003

2004

2005

2006

Aquilaria crassna
Aquilaria filaria
Aquilaria malaccensis

2128

Aquilaria spp.
Gyrinops spp.

56 464

2007*

Grand Total

115

115

4576

34 20174 640113 41755 02664 05475 668253 340

6000

989

1723

8712

7396

10 45817 853

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database (2003-2006); *UAE CITES Scientific Authority (2007)

Points of entry
Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are the major entry points for most commodities into the UAE. With respect
to agarwood products, Dubai airport is the major entry point for declared cargoes. This information was
supported by traders interviewed, who stated that the majority of the imported agarwood enters as air cargo.
While there is no official documentation on the exact points of import and re-export, Dubai is believed tobe the port of entry and exit for trade in over 95% of agarwood and agarwood products, simply because of
its transport and business infrastructure. The ports and airports of Abu Dhabi and Sharjah may playlesser roles in the agarwood trade, but these do not feature as points of entry for CITES-permitted cargoes.

Trends in sources of supply
India
The majority of traders interviewed in the UAE stated that India, a range State for Aquilaria malaccensis,
remained a major supplier to the Middle East market until 10-15 years ago. Historically India has long beenthe ‘original’ source supply for the Middle East agarwood market. Two reasons were given for this change:a). The depletion of the wild agarwood tree populations (traders from small-medium companies
and experienced salesmen from big companies seemed aware of the problem);b). Bans and restrictions on trade from the Indian government (this response was given as the only
reason mainly by sales persons working in branches of big companies, or as a consequence of a)above).

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

19

India’s legislation does not allow for any export of agarwood from its native agarwood tree populations,but does allow for re-exports of agarwood and agarwood products sourced from other range States. From
1996-2006, this totalled almost 38t of Aquilaria malaccensis (37,839kg) mainly in the form of chips, butalso including 5600kg of agarwood powder and 787kg classified as agarwood ‘timber’, with the only
countries of origin declared as either Indonesia or Malaysia. No exports of agarwood oil have ever beenreported in India’s CITES Annual Reports.
Since 2005, however, gross (re-) exports from India to the UAE have been markedly declining – to thepoint where UAE’s reported imports of agarwood for 2007 total only 19kg of chips. This decline in
CITES-permitted trade is believed to be due to an ongoing dispute between exporters and the CITESManagement Authority of India over verification of the source of the proposed agarwood (re-)exports from
India, despite India continuing to report CITES-permitted imports from other range States. There also
exists an impasse between the Indian CITES Authorities and growers and exporters regarding the status of
cultivated agarwood plantations in the north-east Indian State of Assam, relative to a finding of nondetriment and ability to be exported under India’s national legislation (All Assam Agar Traders and Agar
Oil Manufacturers Association (AATMA), in litt. to TRAFFIC, January 2008).
At the same time, during TRAFFIC’s research, several incidences of agarwood quantities were observed(in 2005, 2006 and 2007) to be delivered to individual shops in Dubai. These bags or boxes of agarwood,and bottles of agarwood oil, had been brought in as personal luggage by passengers arriving from India,
and chips and oil were delivered to be sold or held on consignment. It is understood that the most frequent
seizures of agarwood in personal luggage at Dubai Airport have been from passengers arriving from India(Ministry of Environment and Water CITES Unit, pers. comm. to TRAFFIC, November 2007).
Table 11:
Origin of Aquilaria chips (in kg) imported by the UAE from India 2004-2006, as reported by UAE

Sum of Import Quantity
Taxon

OriginNot Specified

Aquilaria filaria

Indonesia

Malaysia

Unknown3

Aquilaria malaccensis

3
2000

Aquilaria spp.

71

Grand Total

74

Grand Total

1761

2480

6241
71

2000

1761

2480

6315

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

Table 12:
Origin of Aquilaria products (all species, in kg) (re-)exported by India to the UAE since 1995, as reported by India

Sum of (Re-)Exp Quantity(Re-) Export Term (Re-) Export Unit
chips

kg

OriginIndonesia

Malaysia

Grand Total

3916

27 53631 452

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

20

Indian agarwood oil: According to a small number of retailers in Dubai, although agarwood from India
is not available in large quantities, agarwood oil (known as dihn al oudh in the UAE market) from India is
still available. Many interviewees stated that this occurs as a result of India’s function as an importer ofagarwood from other range States, before re-exporting locally processed oil. Furthermore, some vendorsinterviewed in the UAE noted that India exports agarwood mainly in the form of oil. This is partly
supported by CITES trade data held at UNEP-WCMC with regard to imports into India, but there has neverbeen any reported CITES-permitted (re-) export of agarwood oil from India. Neither has there been any
export of raw agarwood from India to UAE that lists India as the country of origin. This conforms to a
restriction under Indian law which prevents the export of any unprocessed native agarwood stocks (seeabove section).
On the basis of TRAFFIC’s observations in the north-east Indian State of Assam in March 2005, and fromfurther consultations with industry participants in Assam and the UAE, there is a thriving industry of both
cultivated agarwood production and oil distillation, which could account for some of the “Indian”
agarwood oil that appears in the UAE market. Additionally, some vendors responded that despite theshortage of Indian-origin agarwood on the global market, traders can still find Indian-origin agarwood
stocks in both India and Singapore. Alternatively, it was reported that Indian agarwood oil may be mixed
with agarwood oil from different range States to create blended oil, yet this may still be offered tocustomers as “100% Indian agarwood oil” to take advantage of the market cache that the Indian ‘brand’enjoys.
CambodiaA large market demand persists for Cambodian agarwood products, since there is a widespread perception
among consumers that Cambodian agarwood is the best alternative to that of Indian origin. This market
opinion was reported to have formed in the mid-1990s, when Cambodia was providing the market withsignificant supplies. Political instability in Cambodia was also stated as a fact that made control of thecountry’s agarwood export market difficult and hence gave opportunities for smuggling. This information
concurs with interviews conducted by TRAFFIC in Cambodia in 2004 with a trader who transported
several litres of agarwood oil every three months to Singapore in his personal luggage for direct sale to
Arab customers. Interviews with traders in the UAE revealed that supplies from Cambodia had been scarcesince 2005, implying that agarwood sold in the market as ‘Cambodian’ may actually originate from otherrange States.
Based on CITES permit data there were no exports reported from Cambodia, nor imports reported to UAE
during the period 2005-2006, noting that Cambodia’s agarwood was not subject to CITES controls
pre-January 2005, when the listing for species other than Aquilaria malaccensis came into force.
Cambodia is a range State for A. crassna, a species for which harvest and trade has been banned since 1993
under Cambodian law (Walston et al, in prep.). It is understood that no legal permission has been given
for Agarwood exports from Cambodia since A. crassna came under the purview of CITES (CITESManagement Authority of Cambodia, in litt. to TRAFFIC, January 2008).
Lao PDR
Relatively small quantities were observed in Dubai retail shops. According to one trader, Lao PDR used toprovide more supplies approximately 10 years ago, and remains highly valued as a source for agarwoodoil.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

21

Indonesia and Malaysia
In addition to the CITES trade data showing these two countries as major suppliers to the UAE, often via
Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia were mentioned as the major supplying countries by a significant
number of traders. Reported examples of geographic sources from within these countries included:
Kelantan, Terengganu, Sabah (Malaysia), Tarakan [Kalimantan], Merauke [Papua] (Indonesia), with themost significant source attributed to eastern Indonesia, Irian Jaya (now Papua) province.
Papua New Guinea
One UAE trader stated that products from PNG, sometimes referred to by the trade name ‘pawi’, used toenter the UAE market in higher volumes until 1999-2000. The low quality and unfamiliar brand name for
PNG products, along with the difficulties in obtaining supply, were the two reasons stated by this interview
respondent for the discontinuance of the supply from PNG.
How Agarwood is sourced for the UAE market
Based on interviews with traders, vendors and company representatives in the UAE, the following
general patterns describe the sourcing of agarwood supplies.
To obtain their agarwood supplies, companies:• Send representatives to visit their suppliers in range States or trade hubs (including buying
from suppliers within UAE);• Are sent samples via post prior to placing their order;• Import from trusted suppliers, with different UAE-based companies often getting their supplies
from the same merchants at major trade hubs (such as Singapore).
Agarwood cargoes enter the country:• By air;• Through private mailing/courier companies;• Carried as personal luggage
Many UAE-based companies have set up branch offices in the range and re-exporting countries to ensure
their quality and continuity of supplies.

Re-exports
Destinations
Main Destinations: Gulf Co-Operation Council (GCC) countries
Secondary Destinations: European Countries (e.g. France, Spain, UK)
Traders and vendors stated that Saudi Arabia was the major final destination country for UAE re-exports,
followed by Kuwait and Qatar. The majority of retail outlets surveyed in Dubai reported that Saudis forma major customer component at agarwood shops in Dubai, with these customers often purchasing
wholesale volumes in order to re-sell in Saudi Arabia.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

22

Other product types re-exported from the UAE to neighbouring GCC countries include processed
powdered incense (bakhoor), and blended perfumes containing agarwood fragrance (muklahat).
The following table shows a summary of re-exported agarwood products from the UAE as reported to the
UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database from 2003-2006, with additional re-export data for 2007 suppliedby the UAE CITES Scientific Authority. Within the category of oil, there are numerous finished perfume
products which contain various concentrations of agarwood oil.
Table 13:
Agarwood products (re-)exported by UAE between 2004 and 2007, as declared by UAE

Sum of (Re-) Export Quantity

Import Destination(Re-) Export Term (Re-) Export Unit

BH

chips

kg

313

oil

kg

oil

litre

powder

kg

FR

KW

SA

SG

Grand Total

2799

78 1856022

87 31912 56512 565

2

283

285

60

1127

1187

Source: UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database (plus 2007 data from UAE CITES Scientific Authority)

In terms of reported CITES trade data, traders’ verbal reports of Saudi Arabian buyers as their primarycustomers is backed up by Saudi Arabia appearing as the main re-export destination. It is not clear,
however, if any individual customers (rather than companies) are applying for CITES permits before
moving agarwood products from UAE to Saudi Arabia (see Section 5.2, below).
In addition to CITES trade data, Dubai Customs also reported 261 litres of agarwood oil exported to
Kuwait in 2003, and 150 litres of agarwood oil to Iraq in 2004.
Alternative Trade Procedures
The agarwood trade between UAE with Saudi Arabia faces some additional trade restrictions including
religious specifications with relation to the purity of materials to be imported. As a result, apart from thelegal channels and procedures, some traders verbally reported supplying their customers in Saudi Arabia
using other methods:••••

Via private mailing/courier companies;
Carried out of the UAE as personal luggage;
Sold in wholesale volumes to customers who visit Dubai (who then presumably leave withpersonal luggage);
Send the agarwood products by truck.

The same techniques were stated to be common for agarwood exports to other GCC countries in order toavoid procedural complications.
There is only one official land border crossing between UAE and Saudi Arabia, at Al Ghuweifat in the westof the UAE. Recognising that this is a potential conduit for CITES specimens entering and leaving theUAE, it has been prioritised by the UAE CITES Authorities as an important checkpoint for collaboration

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

23

with Customs officials. There have been some efforts to build capacity in this regard in 2006 and 2007
(Ministry of Environment and Water CITES Unit, pers. comm. to TRAFFIC, 2007)

Market structure
Registration of Traders with the CITES Management Authorities
According to Article 18 of the Federal Law No.11, all persons carrying out any activity included in thescope of the provisions of the Law (e.g. import, export, sale, display) must be registered with the CITESManagement Authority. It is not known how many companies in total have registered with the CITESManagement Authorities, but as of November 2007, there were 38 companies registered as agarwood
traders in Dubai (Ministry of Environment and Water, CITES Unit, pers. comm. to TRAFFIC, November2007). One additional company not present in Dubai, and only in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, has beenregistered (Federal Environment Agency, pers. comm. to TRAFFIC, November 2007). It should be notedthat the registration of a company with either of the UAE CITES Management Authorities allows it tooperate in any Emirate of the UAE (UAE CITES Management Authority, in litt. to TRAFFIC, 9 July 2008)
Commercial Registrations
Trade licences are obtained for each Emirate under different procedures. Each Emirate is responsible forholding a list of the registered companies only within its jurisdiction. Regarding the Emirates of Abu Dhabi
and Dubai, the following procedures are to be followed5:a) Abu Dhabi
Companies or enterprises practicing business and industrial activities within the Emirate (whether
temporary or permanent) shall obtain licenses (Law No.(5), 1998) and join the Chamber of Commerce(Article 31, Law No. (6), 1976, amended by Law No. (1), 1984).
Companies trading agarwood in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain are included into the following categories:•••

131405: Oudh (agarwood), incense, scents and requisites trading: 27 registered companies
as of 2005;
131416: Perfume Component Mixing: four companies in Abu Dhabi and two in Al Ain asof 2005;
131404: Perfume Trading: 632 registered companies (it is estimated that there are anumber of oudh-trading companies included in this category, confirmed by a random
sampling by phone) as of 2005.

5 It should be noted that the Emirate of Sharjah may also have some smaller significance as a trade hub for Agarwood, but the
research did not focus on this location.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

24b) Dubai
In accordance with the Articles 2 & 5 of Federal Law No (5), 1975 concerning the Commercial Register,
every merchant must inscribe their companies with the Commercial Register. Under the Law (1), 1992 theCommercial Register falls under the responsibility of the Department of Economic Development (DED)
and shall be followed by registration with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).
For the Commercial Register, the DED along with the DCCI, have established a standard classification forcommercial activities. According to the first revision of this classification (2005) three commercial
activities are related to agarwood trade:•2424-06: Agarwood and Incense Manufacturing (Under the category 2424: Manufactureof Detergents and Cosmetics): 1 registered company;
242403: Perfume Manufacturers: 14 companies registered, including two major agarwood
trading companies;
5132-07: Agarwood and Incense trading: (Includes the re-sale of agarwood, oriental
perfumes, various types of incense as well as the re-sales of requisites such as bottles,
boxes and vaporizers etc). For this activity the DCCI has 347 registered companies, while
the following numbers of registered companies were obtained by the DED for the years
2000-2005:••

Table 14:
Number of Agarwood and Incense trading companies in Dubai registered with the DED (years 2000-2005)

Year

Number of companies

2000

42

2001

56

2002

93

2003

122

2004

108

2005

89

Source: DED, 2005

The commercial list obtained from DCCI may contain companies, which do not deal with agarwood, which
explains to some extent the discrepancy between the numbers of registered companies between DCCI and
DED.
Agarwood Industry Segments and Distribution Channels
Based on information obtained through individual interviews with agarwood traders, it can be concluded
that most trading companies in the UAE have two common characteristics: they are mostly family-ownedand-run companies often with multiple outlets, and they perform multiple roles within the supply chain(importers-wholesalers-exporters-retailers). A few distinctive categories for trade participants in the
agarwood market structure were identified by traders and vendors interviewed as follows:

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

25

•“Big Players”: Involved in importing agarwood, manufacturing oudh (agarwood)
products, wholesaling and retailing. They own manufacturing facilities for the processing
and manufacture of agarwood oil and blended perfumes in the UAE (Dubai, Jumeirah,
Sharjah, Ajman) and abroad (e.g. India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Yemen).

•

Manufacturing companies and wholesalers: involved in the broader commercial activityof perfume manufacturing (Dubai) and perfume mixing (Abu Dhabi). These companies
supply the UAE market with branded perfume products (including agarwood ingredients),
as well as the wider GCC region and the market for ‘Arabic perfumes’ globally. At small
retail-wholesale shops (not wholly owned by one company) in up-market shopping centres
and bazaars, a wide range of branded perfume products were on sale.

•

Wholesalers: Based on traders and vendors interviewed, there are 5-10 significant
wholesalers of agarwood and agarwood products in Dubai.

•Medium-size companies: Some obtain their products in wholesale volumes in the UAE
from foreign or local companies which also produce branded products on their behalf.
Some medium-size UAE companies also claimed to own manufacturing units in India,
Bangladesh, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

•

Smaller scale traders: These small-time industry players buy from within the UAE
wholesale supply chain, but some also claim to trade directly with Singapore or range
States to procure agarwood chips and oil.

•

Unregistered traders: Based on interviews, this category may form a substantial numberof itinerant industry participants, operating from non-commercial premises (e.g. rented
apartment) selling agarwood wholesale with local companies. Oil and other agarwood
products are often bought in small amounts from individual suppliers.

Perceptions Of CITESIn discussions with agarwood trading companies, CITES was viewed consistently as a barrier to trade andan impediment to business. The perceptions of industry members regarding the potential benefits of CITES
regulations, if applied appropriately, to the long term sustainability of the agarwood industry were either
indifferent or sceptical. Traders who were aware of CITES, when asked about the potential for a legal or
certified chain of increasingly sustainable supply, stated that it would be very difficult to control the large
number of Agarwood traders, and were concerned about the relative business incentives of compliance if
it allowed less scrupulous competitors to take advantage.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

26

Grading and processing of agarwood products
Quality Indicators
Raw Agarwood (oudh):
Based on interviews with traders and vendors in Dubai, the following information can be summarised
regarding the characteristics of raw agarwood quality, which has a link to both grading and price: but mostimportant are the indicators recognised by the market or individual customer: aroma, and country-oforigin.
•Aroma:
Customers buying raw agarwood are focused on the aroma when the wood chips are burnt – and there aredifferent preferences according to the individual. Particular aromas are attributed to range States and theresin content of the wood. In general, the higher resin content, the higher the quality; lower resin content
and therefore lower quality is characterised by more woody aromas. Usually when lower quality agarwood
is burnt it may irritate the nose and eyes more than the genuine (higher quality) ones.
•
Country of origin:
In the UAE market, the ranking between countries-of-origin as ‘brand names’ or having particular quality
aromas follow in line with the sequence below:
1. India; 2. Cambodia; 3. Malaysia; 4. Laos-Myanmar; 5. Indonesia.
India and Cambodia were consistently quoted to be first and second in this scale, however,variations in response were noted between other countries-of-origin from traders and vendors interviewed.
•
Duration of fragrance:
Good quality agarwood burns evenly and rather slowly releasing its aroma gradually. Thus, the fragrance
lingers in the room for a longer period. The period of burning depends on the size of the individual pieces
and the oil content.
•
Colour of the wood:
Colour of the agarwood was stated to be related to the age of the tree and the amount of resin it contains.
The quality was also said to be linked with the different parts of the tree – for example, the roots of the tree
were thought to contain more resin than the trunk or branches. It should also be noted that before
presentation on the market in the UAE, agarwood chips are usually polished, and often coloured to give adarker hue; all in the effort to attract buyers from the UAE and surrounding countries in the Middle East
market.
•Size-Thickness:
With regards to good qualities, size of individual pieces is not considered a quality indicator, since one
quality may contain bigger and smaller pieces. Bigger pieces are preferred when the customers buy oudh
for special occasions, where a large quantity is burnt to honour a large number of guests. Thickness of
individual pieces, however, can be a useful indicator of quality, and from which part of the tree the piece
was extracted. Lower qualities of oudh chips are usually very thin pieces from the outer layer of the tree

An assessment of the illegal ivory trade in Viet Nam

27

trunk. Such thin pieces usually have smaller
quantities of resin, and as a result burn quicker
with a more woody smell. In contrast, better
qualities of chips are thicker and burn evenly andslowly.
Agarwood Oil / Dihn al Oudh:
Based on interviews with traders and vendors in
Dubai, the following information summarises
the indicators of agarwood oil (dihn al oudh)
quality:
Agarwood allegedly sourced from India•
Country-of-Origin:
Similar to the preference for raw agarwood,
India is considered to be the best ‘source’ of
agarwood oil (dihn al oudh), followed by
Cambodia. As noted previously, there were also
reports by traders and vendors interviewed thatlesser quality oils are likely to contain mixed‘countries-of-origin’, as well as different ages orvintages of oil.
•Aroma:The more distinctive and spicier the aroma, thebetter the oil is considered to be.

Agarwood allegedly sourced from Malaysian Borneo•
Duration of fragrance:
Good quality dihn al oudh can be identified
based on the duration the fragrance lasts on theskin or clothes, with good quality ones lastingfor up to three days.

All pictures by James Compton/TRAFFIC•
Colour / Thickness / Density:
The colour was reported to be connected withthe age of the tree from which the chips (andthen the oil) was extracted, while the thickness(viscosity) of the oil depends on the years thatthe oil was stored. This is connected with theyears the distilled oil has been stored and thus
matured: a process analogous to that of thedifferent ‘vintages’ associated with wine.

Agarwood allegedly sourced from Brunei Darussalam

As a general point, from nearly all interviews
conducted, there was very little awareness of
individual genus or species names, nor of the

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

28

Latin nomenclature used for scientific classification. In the UAE market structure, species names do notplay a significant role as a quality indicator: no positive responses with reference to species name wererecorded. As the market is supplied by entrepots as well as directly from range States/countries-of-origin,with agarwood of various levels of quality, it would be extremely difficult to distinguish wood chips byindividual species.
Grading System
In general, wholesale quantities of agarwood are disaggregated by the importer: first by country-of-origin,then by quality or grade. This process occurs either at point of purchase in the range State or entrepot, orat point of import into the UAE or other end-market destinations. Often the process happens twice – thecargo needing to be re-graded when it arrives in the UAE. This is why some companies employ expert
graders and processors, often personnel from India (Assam and other north-east Indian States) and
Bangladesh.
Traders in the UAE reported the use of common terminology to describe different grades. However, a
fixed/standard system for grading does not seem to be established, and consequently the grading of
agarwood products was described as relatively flexible and rather subjective. Grading mainly depends on
the standards of each importing/trading company and the levels of experience of the grading personnel.
Additionally, the same grade from different countries of origin may hold different value in the overallmarket. According to traders and vendors interviewed, although the same terms (see Table 16 below) areused for all countries-of-origin, each country has its own place in the market (e.g. Double Super from India
is always considered superior to Double Super from Cambodia).
Based on the responses of the traders the following qualities can be identified:
Table 15:
Grades for Agarwoood / oudh chips

GradesDouble Super: (1-3 levels within this category)
Super
Grade 1, 2 and 3 oudh
Lower qualities:

Mura

Kalagashi

Sala

Source: TRAFFIC Research

Agarwood / Oudh chips
Kalagashi, Mura, and Sala are qualities that contain thin and small pieces with some variations. The termkalagashi in India is used to describe agarwood mixed with other, more common species of wood in order
to increase the weight (Barden et. al., 2000). In Dubai however, this mixing process was not mentionedby traders either due to lack of knowledge or unwillingness to discuss such issues.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

29

Table 16:
Qualities for dihn al oudh

Maliki

Jedid
Kadim

Seufi

Jedid
Kadim

MubakharAgarwood Oil / Dihn al oudh:
Traders use common terms such as Maliki (=royal), Seufi (=sword), andMubakhar (translation unknown) to describe different qualities. Others
name the dihn al oudh depending on the place of origin such as Pusat. Eachof the mentioned qualities or terms can then be divided in two subcategories:
Jedid which means “new” and Kadim which means “old”.

Jedid
Kadim

Source: TRAFFIC Research

Processing
Processing begins with selection in the country-of-origin or entrepot, where gradings are agreed at point ofsale, and subsequently the cargo is usually re-sorted once it arrives in the UAE. According to tradersinterviewed, supplies are purchased from the Singapore merchants or directly from range States indifferent qualities and often relatively bigger pieces. These larger pieces may contain a variety of qualities
within each piece, and thus are re-graded and often cut into smaller chips resulting in two-to-three more
grades for retail. This is done by skilled graders who may have been brought to Dubai for this specificpurpose from areas in north-east India (e.g. Assam) or Bangladesh (e.g. Sylhet), where grading expertise
goes back many generations. As previously noted, graded agarwood chips are usually polished, and often
coloured, to give a darker hue before presentation on the market in the UAE.
The profit margin for higher grades of agarwood chips is still high enough not to be economical to process
high grade chips into oil. Thus it is usually the lower grades of wood that are used for oil distillation,
except under particular circumstances when high-grade oil is required. Some responses in UAE fromtraders interviewed suggested that in the past the roots of the tree were included in the distillation process,as it is thought that more resin is contained in the lower parts of the tree. The fact that the trend ingeneral availability of higher grades of agarwood is decreasing means that lower-grades of chips are
dominating the market, and consequently there is more oil being produced. Some interview responses
suggested also that the quality of the oil has become far inferior in recent years as a result.
Manufacturing
Oil Production
Local Processing:Some big companies own manufacturing units within the UAE, including distillation facilities. However,some traders and company representatives stated that UAE manufacturers focus more attention on
producing different blended perfumes or various oudh products and derivative such as scented chips andcompressed bakhoor. The inferior quality of the UAE water (which is mostly produced by desalination) is
not appropriate for agarwood oil distillation. One company representative explained that his company’s
distillation unit in Dubai supplies oil only for blending purposes, whereas imported oil is sold directly,
usually unadulterated and without blending.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

30

Processing Abroad:
Large quantities of oil were reported by interviewees to be imported from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia andThailand; all countries which many traders stated their companies have established distillation units, or
have direct connections with distillation operations. Other companies were reported to obtain supply fromsimilar distillation operations in Yemen or Saudi Arabia. None of these sources are borne out by reported
CITES trade data on imports into the UAE, which indicates the possibility of an additional trade segment
which may be a combination of unreported and unregulated imports in personal luggage and smuggledcommercial quantities of oil.
UAE’s large perfume manufacturers work with international perfume suppliers which provide them witheither raw chemicals to use for the blending process, or produce, on their behalf, branded perfume
products, according to traders interviewed, as well as company websites).
Agarwood Chips

Oil Conversion Factor

For the issuance of CITES permits since 2004, the UAE CITES Management Authority has used an
official conversion formula established by a leading agarwood trading company in consultation with the
UAE CITES Authorities.
•

For the production of 6 toulas of oil, 10 kg of wood is required. Therefore, for 1 litre ofoil, 143.6kg of agarwood are used.
(1kg/1l contains approximately 86 toulas, 1 toula is calculated as equal to 11.6g)

According to other traders the quantity of oil produced by 1 kg of agarwood varies from 3-10g. This would
suggest that to produce 1l of oil, between 100 and 333kgs of wood are required.
The conversion factor also depends on the efficiency of the technology available as well as the amount ofoleoresin contained in the wood pieces used for distillation. Thus, standardised conversion factors can only
be indicative.
However, even if the UAE conversion factors are conservative, if this conversion rate is applied to the totalreported re-exports of agarwood oil from the UAE between 2004 and 2006, some idea of the significanceof the agarwood oil segment of the overall trade can be gleaned.
From 2004-2006, the UAE reported re-exporting 12,565 kg of agarwood oil6. Using the standard
conversion factor as a basis for calculation, including a margin for error i.e. that between 100 and 333 kgs
of wood are required to produce 1l of oil, the extrapolation of total amounts of wood processed to produce
the quantity exported by the UAE over this three-year period is between 1,256,500kg and 4,184,145kg ofwood, or between 1257 and 4184 tonnes7 of wood.

6 This assumes that 1 kg =1 litre, which may not be completely accurate.
7 In addition to the amounts reported in kg, the UAE reported re-exports of perfumes containing various concentrations ofagarwood oil, totaling approximately 285 litres. If the same conversion rate is used, this would account for an additional 28,500kg
to 94,905kg, or between 28.5 and 95 tonnes.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

31

Agarwood products in the retail market
Qualities used for different end products
Low quality chips, and shavings and powder, which remain from the sorting and grading steps of theprocessing are normally used for distillation into oil. Once the chips/shavings/powder have been distilled,they are then dried and used in the manufacture of bukhoor and mahmool for the lower end of the fragrance
market.
Good quality agarwood is rarely used for distillation, aside from residue from the sorting and grading
stages, unless on the rare occasion that companies specifically want to produce very high quality agarwood
oil / dihn al oudh.
For blended perfumes, the attributed country-of-origin does not play a significant role in marketing the
product to the consumer. Different agarwood oils and qualities of powder are mixed together, often witha number of other ingredients, to make what are known as attars and mukhalats.
Table 17:
Qualities of oudh shavings used for the production of oil

Pure dihn al oudh (expensive)

Medium qualities

Dihn al oudh (cheaper)

Lower qualities of oudh (From the same
country) are usually mixed together.

For blended Arabian perfumes (attars /mukhalats / bakhoor / mahmool etc)

Low qualities of oudh are usually mixed
together.

Source: TRAFFIC Research

Quantities used for agarwood / oudh derivative products
According to traders interviewed, the quantities of agarwood used for manufacturing derivative products
varies significantly from company to company, and therefore cannot be standardised. Based on theinformation obtained from the UAE CITES permits database, however, some indicative numbers can beobserved:a) For liquid perfumes and oil-based products, the quantities of agarwood reported to be used range
from 0.05% to 95%;b) For scented wood chips the concentration ranges from 40%-60%.
Potential profit margin
The majority of interviewees stated that trade in agarwood chips has a considerably lower profit margin
than agarwood oil-based perfumes. One important issue mentioned by two traders was that trading in
agarwood / oudh chips entails a higher risk due to the high possibility of importing a mix of lower gradesin a wholesale shipment, resulting in a nett loss.
Obtaining precise information about the profit structure for each type of product proved difficult, due tothe commercial nature of the inquiries. What was gleaned from four interviewees was as follows:
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

32a) For agarwood / oudh chips, the profit varies between 20% and 40%;b) For agarwood oil / dihn al oudh the profit varies from 50% to 100%;c) For blended perfumes containing agarwood extracts, profit can be 100% and above.
The level of profit will depend on the scale of trading and manufacturing activities conducted by eachcompany, and the price the market will bear.

Packaging
Packaging holds an important role for promoting sales of luxury items, and the end-prices which perfume
products can command. Packaging varies from basic to luxurious bottles and boxes depending on theprices of the agarwood-derived products. Packaging is also very important for branded products, as it aidsin the easy identification of the products by the consumers. It was observed by several vendors interviewedthat elaborate packaging with an oriental tone was one of the most important factors attracting tourists tosample agarwood-derived perfumes.
Price Fluctuation
Supply Periods
With regard to the supply locations, traders interviewed stated that prices fluctuated regularly depending
on two factors:a) Seasonal peak period with significant rises of prices: Peak season for obtaining agarwood for
the Middle East market is the period starting 4-5 months prior to Ramadan (the Muslim month of
fasting);b) Irregular Supply: Depending on ease of harvesting due to accessing increasingly remote sourceareas for wild stocks, quality and volume of supply fluctuates throughout the year, which affects
the price structure across the trade chain. This varies also with wet and dry season in the range
States.
RetailBigger companies try to keep their products at a stable price to maintain the market niche. However, thefluctuation of the import price is always reflected in the retail prices in the UAE. The prices of agarwood
oil / dihn al oudh and other agarwood-derived perfumes have been characterised as more stable than
agarwood chips, since the price fluctuation seems to have a direct impact on the raw material, while
perfume products include a high percentage of production and other costs. As a general trend, retail prices
for agarwood chips have been rising on an annual basis.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

33

Retail Prices
Agarwood / Oudh Chips (AED per kg)
Table 18:
Retail prices quoted in dubai agarwood outlets (chips) in Dubai

Price per kg (low-to-high grade
range) in AED - 2005

Price per kg (low-to-high grade
range) in AED - 2007

Cambodia

2000 – 60 000

2200 - 80 000

India

5000 – 60 000

2800 - 70 000

Indonesia

700 – 17 000

2000 - 7000

Malaysia

750 – 45 000

8000 - 30 000

Myanmar2850 – 14 000

4000 - 80 000

500 - 2000

1200 - 1500

Attributed Country-of-Origin“Artificial” (BMW)Source: TRAFFIC research(Conversion rates: November 2005 AED1=USD0.272; November 2007 – AED1=USD0.272)

The most expensive agarwood chips are not usually on open display, and are usually kept in separate
containers, often suitcases or boxes, which are displayed upon request from the customer. One techniquethat was stated to be commonly used by different companies was to show the customers oudh of medium
quality and price and continue the deal depending on the customer’s reaction and level of knowledge. It
was stated that high-end customers would even pay up to AED120,000 per kg for top quality agarwood/oudh chips.
Agarwood Oil / Dihn-al-Oudh (per toula: 1 toula = 11.6g):
Table 19:
Retail prices observed during shop visits (oil*)Attributed

Price per toula(AED) - 2005

Price per toula(AED) - 2007

India

500 – 5,000

1600-5000

Cambodia

200 – 2,500

600-2000

Malaysia

150 – 1,000

1000

Myanmar

300-800

1100

Attributed country-of-origin

Source: TRAFFIC market research(Conversion rates: November 2005 - AED1=USD0.272; November 2007 – AED1=USD0.272)*Note that the purity of the oil was not able to be verified, and that the prices quoted for oil were taken at face value.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

34

Consumer groups and profile
Nationalityi.

UAE nationals and residents, plus Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals

Aside from local residents, customers from GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
and United Arab Emirates) form the majority of the agarwood consumers in the UAE. Dubai’s primacy asa trade hub and increasingly popular tourist destination ensures a constant flow of interested customers
visiting from surrounding countries, some of whom purchase wholesale in order to re-sell back in theirhome country. The majority of traders interviewed, irrespective of the location of their outlet / shop,
explained that nationals of Saudi Arabia formed the highest percentage of their customers, and this wasmatched by the highest purchasing power.
ii.

Foreign Nationals (outside GCC)

The establishment of Dubai as an attractive location for business as well as leisure, combined withinternational trade fairs, conferences and exhibitions has resulted in a large influx of foreign nationals fromoutside the GCC. Consequently, additional consumer groups interested in experiencing Arab culture havebeen added to potential agarwood customers. During TRAFFIC’s research interviews, many people ofdifferent nationalities entered shops to see or buy products: other than Europeans, people were observed
from Southeast Asia and Africa. As a general observation by the traders interviewed, these groups ofcustomers tend to buy lighter oriental perfumes or chip mixtures as well as bakhoor. Customers from India
form a small group within the foreign nationals, mainly purchasing bakhoor and low quality-cheap mixed
perfumes. British, German, and Russian were the nationalities mostly mentioned as the best foreign
customers among non-GCC nationals. Russians were reported to buy other essential oils rather than items
containing oudh.
Age
Agarwood / oudh products continue to be used widely among all ages:•••

Older people (>50 years old) mainly use dihn al oudh and traditional Arabian perfumes.
Younger people (< 40 years old) tend to use all kinds of products often without discrimination.
They use essential oils for their body (behind the ears, arms, and noses), incense for theirclothes and at the end they use French-style perfumes, sometimes mixed with oudh blends.
Younger people tend to look for medium-low priced products depending on their purchasing
power.
It was observed that in general younger women did not purchase the oudh products they use
themselves. Within the Arab family structure, usually the parents and especially mothers weresaid to be responsible for purchasing these items as part of taking care of the family and home.

Gender
Women:•

Women are responsible for the household, and usually are in charge in purchasing agarwood

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

35

James Compton/TRAFFIC
A merchant shows agarwood quality to a customer•

chips and incenses for the house. As a result, women are the dominant purchasers of agarwood
products in the market;
Women themselves tend to use a wide variety of attars, mukhalats and mixtures of French andArabic perfumes.
Older women (>50 years old): still buy agarwood powder to prepare their own bakhoor••

Use dihn al oudh and French-style perfumes with some oudh ingredients;
Visit the shops less often in person.

•

Men:

Fluctuations in demand
Shopping festivals, Eid celebrations, and preparations for Ramadan have appeared to be the peak periods
with respect to sales, as stated by the majority of traders interviewed. During Ramadan itself, sales wereslower.
Trade promotion events such as Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises affect the sales
performance not only at the shops in the malls participating in the Festivals, but also the commodity
markets in general. One major perfume company assessed the significant surge in total sales during two
years of the Dubai Shopping Festival: DSF 2003: 10% growth, 2004: 15% (AME Info, 2004i). Thesefigures may reflect potentially positive market growth for agarwood products also, catalysed by suchpromotional events.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

36

Level of knowledge
In general, end-consumers in Dubai did not seem to have a considerable knowledge of the specifics ofagarwood products, and thus their ability to distinguish source countries and grades/qualities is quite
limited. Salesmen often take advantage of this lack of knowledge and have developed sophisticatedtechniques for approaching the customers and convincing them on the quality and price of the product.

Future perspectives
Market Characteristics
Market Size
The market size of oriental perfumes (including agarwood-derived products) in the UAE has been
estimated at approximately AED2-2.5 billion for 2004, and across the Middle East region at AED14.6
billion (Rahman, 2005; Ayyash, 2005). It has been also stated that eight major perfume companies control
about 75% of the market (Rahman, 2005). One major perfume company has estimated the market growthof the oriental perfume market at 6-7% per year (Rahman, 2005), with Saudi Arabia and UAE describedas the two fastest growing markets (AME Info, 2004ii). However, the mid-market segment of Westernstyle perfumes is growing at a higher rate at 10-12% per annum (Rahman, 2005). In line with the figures
above, the majority of traders interviewed for this research described the agarwood / oudh market as
steadily growing since the 1990s.
Nature of Demand
The demand for agarwood / oudh products does not seem to have been affected by the gradual rise of retailprices. This can be explained by the unique nature of the uses of agarwood, which is strongly linked with
Arab culture as well as by the rise of the consumer purchasing power since the 1970s, and particularly sincethe 1990s owing to the (fuel, not agarwood) oil price boom and the expansion of international businessactivities within the GCC. The exponential rise in oil prices between 2004 and 2008, and the concurrent
boom in the UAE economy (particularly in Dubai), have seen a proliferation of luxury brands and status
symbols in the marketplace, and agarwood /oudh products often function as social status indicators among
Arab customers.
Based on the responses of traders interviewed, consumers tend to spend comparatively more money on
perfume products. The number and frequency of visits to perfume shops have increased, with consumers
purchasing new perfume products even on a monthly basis.
One leading UAE perfume company dealing in agarwood products has estimated the growth of the demand
for fragrance products in GCC countries and other markets at a steady rate of 25% per year for the years
1999-2002. More specific, for the year 2002 they observed a 20% increase in total sales (AME Info, 2003).
According to salesmen, branded oil-based blended Arabian perfumes and oriental fragrances mixed with
French styles are continuously getting a bigger share of sales. Such products are also preferred by tourists(a segment that is growing considerably). As a response to such a growing demand, big companies launch

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

37

new branded perfume products almost every month. Air fresheners, body lotions, and sets with a range ofdifferent products (even agarwood-fragrance shampoo) are fast moving products.
According to traders interviewed, oil-based and spray perfumes hold a higher percentage of sales
comparing to incense products (agarwood chips/bakhoor). The proportion estimated by one trader was 60%- 40% of the total sales.
A significant number of the interviewed traders stated that agarwood chips were a high-risk product due togradually increasing shortage in supply volume and regularity, and overall declining qualities; whilebringing relatively low profit margins. Many traders explained that their profits are derived mainly fromthe perfume trade in order to be able to sustain their agarwood / oudh business as a whole. Consequently,
big companies focus on perfume production and promotions. As the director of a small company stated, inorder to be an oudh trader it is inappropriate not to sell incense products, describing agarwood chips as a“dying product”.
Marketing strategies
Penetrating the existing market:
Big companies follow retail expansions as part of their response to the high degree of competition,
followed by large promotions with the overall aim to establish a visible profile with Arab/GCC customers.
Big investments in Research and Development facilities or new manufacturing units aimed to raise theproduction capacity were observed to be promoted by inaugurations by Sheikhs and with newspaper
coverage. In the GCC, three major companies dealing with a variety of agarwood products currently have
465 outlets in the GCC countries, with approximately 50% in the UAE itself.
Given the cultural context of agarwood products, combined with the launch of new concept products(sprays, deodorants, body lotions), companies are consolidating their ‘image’ within the existing market of
GCC nationals. Marketing strategies in the UAE are closely linked to large promotional events, such as
Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises, an annual contest on oriental perfumes, as well as
special offers also aim to increase sales.
Establishing new consumer market demandSpecial focus has been given to the purchasing interest of foreign nationals, both GCC and visitors from
elsewhere. Large promotions focus on bringing tourists to the perfume shops, with an emphasis on the‘exotic culture’ of Arabian perfumes as part of the experience of visiting the UAE.
Large hotels have also assisted the growth in this cultural awareness, by introducing their hosts totraditions of Arab hospitality which includes incense burning (Ayyash, 2005), in addition to the culturaldissemination via institutions such as the Shaikh Muhammad Centre for Cultural Understanding in Dubai’s
Bastakia area. Furthermore, big companies have included in their marketing strategies the expansion of
trading networks in new markets abroad, such as Europe (UK, France) and North America (USA), Africa( Egypt, Morocco), the wider region of Middle East as well as India, Iran and Pakistan. Such markets
absorb mid-to-low range perfume products, as well as a smaller amount of high-end products.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

38

Problems Identified by industry experts
Volume and Quality
The overall volume and quality of the supplies have decreased dramatically. This has been identified as
the major threat to the continuity of the agarwood / oudh business by the majority of traders interviewed.
Almost 50% of traders interviewed remarked on the loss of the wild forests and the use of younger trees
with less resin content as the main reasons for such problems.
Reliability and Market Ethics
This shortage of supplies in a market with a growing demand has led to some unscrupulous traders using
various techniques to maximize their profit margin; such as polishing, artificial colouring (oudh and dihn
al oudh), “brand-naming” agarwood / oudh products as coming from the most preferred range States,
mixing different qualities of agarwood, and agarwood oil. Two traders mentioned that these techniques areof common practice, while in general the majority of the traders tended to blame their competitors forpursuing such practices instead of following ethical and transparent procedures.
During the shop visits, outlets of the same company but different shops sold products from different
countries-of-origin: for example at one shop agarwood chips and oil were claimed to be from India andMalaysia, while at another shop Malaysian, Cambodian and Indonesian products were on sale. In bothcases the salesmen explained that products from Cambodia and India were very rare, and hence, very
expensive.
Trust-based relationships between traders, and within the supply chain, are regarded as the most importantconsiderations. Dealing with the same suppliers on a regular basis or involving family members in the
supply chain as a means of protecting their business was stated to be a widespread practice. Stockpiling
however, is not a common practice outside of the big companies, since it requires large amount ofinvestment that medium and small businesses cannot afford.
Other
High degree of competition: the growing numbers of companies entering the market was identified as acause of profit loss by medium and small traders. During shop visits traders often believed that the
researcher was representing a competitive company and were sceptical in giving information.
High rents: Many small traders in up-market shopping malls pointed out that the rents in Dubai were
getting irrationally higher, making it difficult for them to maintain their businesses. They also mentionedthat a number of small shops have closed down during the past 5 years.
Trade Restrictions: A few traders mentioned the trade restrictions in India as a cause of prices rising. In
isolated cases, traders also mentioned global application of CITES as affecting both continuity of supply
and contributing to price increases.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

39

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONSThe period of this research co-incided with a surge in oil prices (which lasted through to late 2008) andgeneral expansion of the UAE economy, and it is clear that the UAE is a significant player in the global
agarwood trade. Together with Saudi Arabia, the two neighbouring countries represent the dominantmarkets for agarwood products in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia a significant direct importer fromrange States as well as being the largest recipient market for agarwood products re-exported from the UAE.
Although there are some opinions among industry participants that the overall market for fragrances ischanging rapidly away from traditional agarwood chips and oil, observations of the persistent availabilityof agarwood stocks – in the form of wood chips, oil, blended attars and muklahats, sophisticated perfumes,
and lower-grade products for home use like bakhoor, scented agarwood pieces and mahmool – confirm an
extremely active retail market in the UAE. Many of the dominant companies have branches in the various
department stores and malls, as well as dedicated shops scattered across Dubai and Abu Dhabi (as well as
in other countries) – and the number of outlets continues to increase as new malls are built and retail
shopping precincts opened.
The market structure for agarwood / oudh trade in the UAE has been largely opaque until now, and remains
highly competitive and somewhat arcane – for example, there are no importers or trading associations andalthough there is some trading within the UAE market between wholesalers and retailers, there appears tobe very little information exchange between companies.
There is, however, a general awareness of the decline in availability of wild stocks from range States, bothin quantity and quality – but particularly the latter. This has led to efforts by various companies and theiremissaries to identify new sources of wild agarwood stocks in more remote areas of range States. The
reduction in quality is believed to be due to overexploitation of old-growth agarwood trees in the wild.
Addressing this decline in conjunction with range States is the most critical element to ensuring thecontinuation of this centuries-old trade, and the cultural use of agarwood in the UAE and across the Middle
East.
The fact that the UAE CITES Authorities have called for increased co-operation between agarwood
producer and consumer countries is a positive sign, and putting this into action should be seen as the firstimportant step towards securing mutual understanding between CITES Parties. While there is definite
potential to harness the market forces, the purchasing power and the persistent cultural demand from theMiddle East to assist the conservation and sustainable management of agarwood production in range States,
it will take concerted efforts to realise such possibilities.
It is not known whether any major investment from the UAE has gone into the development of plantations
or cultivated agarwood production systems, except in north-east India where at least one UAE-based
company has been pursuing cultivation for several decades. Company website information in some cases,
however, states a commitment towards sustainability of supply with three major players in the UAE
agarwood market claiming to harvest agarwood from private plantations and carry out studies in the field.
In discussions with agarwood trading companies, CITES was viewed consistently as a barrier to trade andan impediment to business. The perceptions of industry members regarding the potential benefits of CITES
regulations, if applied appropriately, to the long term sustainability of the agarwood industry were either
indifferent or sceptical. Traders who were aware of CITES, when asked about the potential for a legal or
certified chain of increasingly sustainable supply, stated that it would be very difficult to control the large
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

40

number of agarwood traders, and were concerned about the relative business incentives of compliance if it
allowed less scrupulous competitors to take advantage. Low levels of consumer knowledge about thesources of agarwood and the low level of environmental concern among UAE consumers in general werealso viewed as difficult issues.
Despite the fact that agarwood use and trade has a long history within the Arab culture in the Middle East,
the absence of written sources and baseline information, including trade data, hinders the attempt to depict
a trend over longer periods of time. With regard to imports and exports, it is not possible to track thechanges in the actual volumes, qualities and products traded except through relatively recent CITES trade
statistics, and some Customs data.
Official CITES data on agarwood trade are not available from the UAE prior to 2003, and in the period
from 2004 onwards, there is a lack of consistency between the data held at the UAE CITES Management
Authority and Customs (at least in Dubai) – although it is important to note that it was not possible toexamine the complete Customs data for HS Codes relative to agarwood products for the period 2003
onwards. The classification of Customs prior to 2006 included raw agarwood in a general category,grouped with other products, resulting in difficulties in tracing exact figures on agarwood in Customs data.
However, the revised Customs codes established in July 2006 are expected to enable more specificinformation to be compiled in the future. Currently the UAE CITES Management Authorities depend on
approved CITES permit data because data from Customs is not considered complete. There are efforts
underway to ensure Customs data is entered into the UAE CITES permit system at federal level, fromvarious ports of entry/exit, which is expected to improve the accuracy and reliability of trade data on
actual volume/mass, and allow comparison with approved permit data (UAE CITES Management
Authority, in litt. to TRAFFIC, 9 July 2008)
The CITES Management Authorities in Abu Dhabi (the Federal Environment Agency) and Dubai (theMinistry of Environment and Water, formerly the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries) have since 2004
worked in collaboration to improve the UAE’s compliance with Annual Reporting requirements to the
CITES Secretariat and the compilation of trade data at UNEP-WCMC. The collaboration with key
enforcement agencies, including Agricultural Quarantine and Customs remains essential to implementing
and enforcing CITES controls and the provisions of the UAE’s Federal Law No. 11. Efforts by the CITES
Authorities in working with Customs to establish improved trade monitoring of CITES-listed species havebeen increased, but the overall impact from these efforts are as yet unable to be assessed with respect toofficial records of seizures and prosecutions. However, the increase in registration of agarwood industry
participants with the CITES Management Authority shows a positive result of awareness-raising withagarwood companies and traders.
It is important to note that this process of improved monitoring and implementation has taken place withrespect to agarwood trade regulation despite the UAE having taken out a reservation for all Aquilaria
species except Aquilaria malaccensis. The UAE’s active participation in the first CITES Agarwood
Experts Group Meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2006 was an extremely positive step (seeAnnex IV for Executive Summary from this meeting). This meeting brought together government
regulators, industry members, technical and scientific experts from producer, entrepot and consumer
countries and allowed the UAE to put forward its particular concerns and to seek the advice and opinion
from other global players in the agarwood trade. The UAE’s offer to host a similar meeting in the near
future is another positive step towards resolving concerns related to the status of supply from both wild andcultivated sources, and the questions of personal effects exemptions and which products should becontrolled under CITES.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

41

RECOMMENDATIONS
1).
To facilitate further considerations of concerns raised by the UAE in 2002 (at the CITES Asia
Regional Meeting), 2004 (at CITES CoP13) and at the CITES Agarwood Experts Group Meeting in 2006,
the UAE is encouraged to work with its neighbouring countries to convene a second experts’ groupmeeting in the Middle East as soon as possible. Such a forum would allow for issues specific to the Middle
East consumer countries to be discussed, and for greater understanding between producer and consumer
countries. Specifically, this proposed forum would enable implementation of CITES Decision 14.138 on
which agarwood products should be under CITES controls, Decision 14.139 on standardized units ofreporting (see below), and Decision 14.140 regarding production of a glossary of terms specific toagarwood products in trade and relevant terminology.
2).
Monitoring of border checkpoints, particularly Dubai Airport, for CITES-listed specimens alreadyinvolves co-operation between CITES, Customs and Quarantine officials. This co-operation should be
strengthened, and where possible under UAE law with regard to the existing CITES Reservation,
personal luggage should be monitored as a mode of import and re-export for agarwood products coming
through the UAE.
3).
To enable ease of monitoring and data analysis, standard units should be used by the UAE CITESManagement Authorities for agarwood products and particularly mass/volume. It is suggested to use kg
for wood chips and powder, and litres for oil and other liquid perfume products. The UAE’s efforts in thisregard should be co-ordinated with other Parties in meeting the recommendations of CITES Decision
14.139.
4).
Following more specific HS Codes in use by Customs since July 2006, the cross-referencing ofdata sets held by Dubai Customs and the UAE CITES Authorities will allow for a comparative analysis of
agarwood trade data. This cross-checking should provide a broader understanding of the UAE’s agarwood
trade profile.
5).
The UAE has remarked publicly on the need for producer and consumer countries to work
together on management of the global agarwood trade, which is to be commended. Such collaboration
should also involve re-exporting countries, such as Singapore, to ensure complete coverage of the tradechain. With regard to the continued predominance of agarwood products claimed to originate from
Cambodia and India in the UAE retail market, and the seizures of cargoes coming from India without
CITES permits, it is recommended that the UAE communicates directly with these range States to try toresolve the current situation and looks for areas of mutual co-operation.
6).
In the UAE itself, the outreach by the CITES Authorities to the agarwood industry has resulted in
an increase in registered trade participants. Such interactions are encouraged to continue, and for means
to be explored to use the market demand as a component of producer-consumer co-operation towards legal
and sustainable trade practices, and the raising of further awareness of CITES regulations. By taking an
inclusive and consultative approach, the relationship between conservation and sustainable trade concerns
and the agarwood business can be further explored.
7).
Following CITES Decision 14.137, the UAE is encouraged to work with other trading Parties andthe CITES Secretariat to produce identification materials for all forms of traded agarwood products under
CITES control.
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

42

REFERENCES
AME Info (2004), i. http://www.ameinfo.com/34899.html
AME Info (2004), ii. http://www.ameinfo.com/33318.html
AME Info (2003). http://www.ameinfo.com/17902.html
Ashwell, D. , and Walston, N. (2008). An Overview of the Use and Trade of Wild Plants and Animals for
Traditional Medicine Systems in Cambodia. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Greater Mekong
Programme, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.
Ayyash., M., (2005), Interview with the Director of Arabian Oudh, Forbes Magazine, September 2005.
Barden, A., Noorainie Awang Anak, Mulliken, T., Song, M. (2000). Heart of the Matter: Agarwood Use
and Trade and CITES Implementation for Aquilaria Malaccensis, TRAFFIC.
Behrens–Abouseif, D., (1999) Beauty in Arabic Culture, Marcus Wiener Publishers, Princeton
Kanafani, A., S., (1979) Aesthetics and Ritual in the UAE, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas
Kanafani, A., S., (1993) Rites of Hospitality Aesthetics, in: Bowen, D., L. and Early, E., A., (1993)
Everyday life in the Muslim Middle East, Indiana University Press, Indianapolis
Kumar et.al., (2002). Essentials of Marketing Research, J. Willey and Sons, 2nd edition
Rahman, S., (2005), Oriental Perfume Market, Gulf News 2004
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia (Eds). 2007. Proceedings of the Experts Group Meeting on Agarwood:
Capacity-building Workshop for Improving Implementation and Enforcement of the CITES
listing of Aquilaria malaccensis and other Agarwood-producing species. Kuala Lumpur 14-17
November 2006. TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, Malaysia.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

43

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

44

12,487

1

1

MYANMARPAKISTAN

62

MALAYSIA

LIBYA

LAOS

KUWAITJAPAN

107,159

INDONESIA

5HONG KONG

83,927

8

GERMANY

INDIA

1

FRANCEERITREA

EGYPT

CHINA

400

100

1,811,134

47,213

1,540,925

3,226,988

100

100

100

1,158

5,000

10

72,00046,062

2,729

44,045110

2,460

55,861

195,049

29,940

8,965

7,659

4,138,856

4,360,875

852,738

236,832

30,411

15,00017,887Weight (kg) Value (AED)

Import25

811

Weight (kg) Value (AED) Weight (kg) Value (AED)

Re-Export

CAMBODIA

14,727

Value (AED

Export65

15Weight (kg)Import2003

BANGLADESH

BAHRAINAZERBAIJAN

AUSTRALIACountry

HSC:12119030

Re-Export

11,000330

225

48,2991,109

57,0501,611

95

32,3181300

49,050365,382

48,477

68,46023,0009,000

Weight (kg) Value (AED)2004

ANNEX I :Dubai Customs Records, 2003-2004 – Chips and pieces of Aloeswood, sandalwood and other aromatic woods fresh or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

45

24,000692

2

TANZANIATHAILANDVIET NAM

TAIWAN

17,8001,020,521

68,031

279,070

4,701

241,500

128

988

44,850

1,360

4,053

20

10,806

639,379

339,936

17,759641,739

6,914

Weight (kg) Value (AED)

1,011

26,9931,300

196,147

24,981

139,369

262,377

9,597

Weight (kg) Value (AED)

Re-Export

5,416

12,435180

2,965

Weight (kg) Value (AED) Weight (kg) Value (AED)

ImportSUDAN

827,901

Value (AED

Re-Export

2,222

5,166

Weight (kg)Export2004

SOUTH AFRICA

SINGAPORESAUDI ARABIAQATARCountry

Import2003

ANNEX I (continued) :Dubai Customs Records, 2003-2004 – Chips and pieces of Aloeswood, sandalwood and other aromatic woods fresh or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered

ANNEX II – UAE Information Document to the 13th Conference of the Parties to CITES,
Bangkok, October 2004
CoP13 Inf. 54(English only / únicamente en inglés / seulement en anglais)
Comments of the United Arab Emirates on the:“CoP13 Prop. 49 (Indonesia) Inclusion of Agarwood-producing species,
Aquilaria spp. and Gyrinops spp., in Appendix II”.
1.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is committed to the principles of the sustainable use of natural
resource and believes that this can benefit both the producing and consumer nations and also assist
in the long-term conservation of these species.

2.
The UAE believes that the Agarwood trade has a number of specific issues which can besummarized as follows:a) Very limited information is available regarding the population size and trend of the various
species of Agarwood in various range States.
b) The Control of trade in Agarwood at the national and international levels will be very difficult
to enforce due to the nature of the commodity that can be used and traded in various forms (wood,chips, powder, oil or as an ingredient in perfumes or medicines) especially if we are aware that theuse of this commodity is related to cultural and religion issues. The UAE would suggest the needfor some sort of labeling system.
c) The importation of Agarwood in all its forms is common for personal use. An exemption for alimited amount of Agarwood chips or oil for this purpose is needed like the exemption for
personal use such as for caviar & crocodilian specimens (Resolution Conf. 12.9 – Personal &Household Effects).
d) There were six Decisions adopted at CoP12, Santiago, Chile in 2003 ( Aquilaria spp. 12.6612.71) dealing with DNA work, distribution of species, including all Agarwood species for
identification purposes, the evaluation of Agarwood producing taxa to 2000 IUCN Criteria,
determining population status and conducting further field research and trade dynamics in major
import and re-exporting States and territories. At the 14th Plants Committee Meeting in Windhoek,
Namibia in February 2004 a progress report on the above six Decisions shows that much work stillneeds to be done. We recommend that these Decisions be investigated fully before considering thepresent proposal.
3. The work of Indonesia for protecting Agarwood trees is appreciated and understood but we believe thatmany points should be first discussed among the importing and exporting countries before
considering this proposal.
4. During the CITES Asian regional meeting in Mongolia (Aug.2002) Saudi Arabia raised the Subject of
Aquilaria malaccensis and United Arab Emirates called for cooperation between the exporting &importing countries, but no further steps have been taken.
The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

46

5. The UAE now calls to reconsider the proposal & reiterate again for the need of a formal consultation
between all concerned Parties at a regional level to take place as soon as possible to address the issues of
Agarwood trade and cooperation between exporting & importing countries at the regional level.
6. Due to insufficient consultation among the exporting and importing countries of agarwood, unbalancein the trade will be expected due to using the rights of reservation regarding this listing in this stage. So thepostpone of the proposal will give the parties a chance to avoid this unbalance in trade.

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

47

ANNEX III – Decisions pertaining to agarwood, arising from the 13th Conferenceof the Parties to CITES, Bangkok, October 2004

13th Conference of the Parties to CITES
Decisions on Agarwood-producing taxa
Directed to Parties
13.61

13.62

13.63

The DNA work currently being undertaken by the National Herbarium of theNetherlands under contract to the Secretariat should continue and should be aimed atinvestigating the options for the development of identification tools based on molecularanalysis.
As the trade is in the readily-identifiable product of agarwood, studies should include all
known agarwood-producing taxa, not only the CITES-listed species Aquilaria
malaccensis, and the possible inclusion of all agarwood-producing taxa in Appendix IIneeds to be discussed.
Further field research should be conducted on trade dynamics, including in the major
importing and re-exporting States and territories of Southeast Asia, East Asia and the
Middle East.

Directed to the Secretariat
13.64

The Secretariat should invite IUCN to re-evaluate the threatened status of all agarwoodproducing taxa according to the IUCN criteria (Version 3.1).

13.65

The Secretariat shall:a) assist in obtaining funding from interested Parties, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, exporters, importers and other stakeholders to support acapacity-building workshop on trade in agarwood prior to the 14th meeting of theConference of the Parties;b) contingent on availability of external funding, cooperate with exporting and importing
countries, as well as significant re-exporting countries and relevant experts, to convene acapacity-building workshop aimed at improving enforcement and implementation of thelisting of Aquilaria malaccensis and other agarwood-producing species;c) in addition to basic enforcement and implementation issues, include in the workshop a
discussion of registration and labelling systems, types of agarwood products in trade andthe potential for establishing personal effects exemptions for each, and the usefulness ofsuch approaches for effective implementation; andd) present at the workshop any new information from the Plants Committee on
identification of agarwood products in trade, as well as information that would assist in
determining sustainable harvest levels and making non-detriment findings.

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48

ANNEX IV – Executive Summary of the CITES Agarwood Experts Group Meeting,
Kuala Lumpur, November 2006
Experts group meeting on Agarwood: Capacity-building Workshop for Improving Implementationand Enforcement of the CITES listing of Aquilaria malaccensis and other Agarwood-producing
species
Kuala Lumpur, 14-17 November, 2006
1) Background: The “Experts group meeting on Agarwood: Capacity-building Workshop for improving
implementation and enforcement of the listing of Aquilaria malaccensis and other Agarwood-producing
species” was held from 14-17 November, 2006 at the Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This Experts
group meeting/workshop on Agarwood was in compliance with CITES Decision 13.65 which addressed
the need of Parties to CITES to work on capacity-building for improving implementation and enforcementof the Convention for the Agarwood-producing species: Decision 13.65, directed to the CITES Secretariat,
includes the following:a) to assist in obtaining funding from interested Parties, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, exporters, importers and other stakeholders to support acapacity-building workshop on trade in agarwood prior to the 14th meeting of the Conferenceof the Parties;b) contingent on availability of external funding, cooperate with exporting and importing
countries, as well as significant re-exporting countries and relevant experts, to convene acapacity-building workshop aimed at improving enforcement and implementation of thelisting of Aquilaria malaccensis and other agarwood-producing species;c) in addition to basic enforcement and implementation issues, include in the workshop a
discussion of registration and labelling systems, types of agarwood products in trade and thepotential for establishing personal effects exemptions for each, and the usefulness of suchapproaches for effective implementation; andd) present at the workshop any new information from the Plants Committee on identificationof agarwood products in trade, as well as information that would assist in determining
sustainable harvest levels and making non-detriment findings.
Funds were identified by the CITES Secretariat and TRAFFIC Southeast Asia for the holding of theExperts Group Meeting, with the financial support coming from the UK Government’s Foreign andCommonwealth Office and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (defra). The Meeting washosted by Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), and was opened by the
Secretary General of MoNRE, Dato’ Suboh Mohd Yassin.
2) Participants: The Experts Meeting brought together 50 national representatives from Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New
Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam and Saudi Arabia. The national
representatives were predominantly from the CITES Management and Scientific Authorities, as well as
forestry management and research institutions. They were joined by 20 national and international

The trade and use of agarwood (Oudh) in the United Arab Emirates

49

Agarwood industry participants, including growers, traders, manufacturers, importers/retailers andconsumers. The CITES Secretariat, members of the CITES Plants Committee for Asia and Oceania, theIUCN Global Trees Specialist Group and TRAFFIC were also represented.
3) Meeting Agenda/Procedure: The Meeting comprised presentations of national reports from exporting,re-exporting and importing country representatives; perspectives from industry on production,
consumption and trade regulation; overviews of global trade; research findings on resin inducement
technology; and instruction on CITES procedures as they pertain to Appendix II-listed agarwoodproducing species. Working group sessions were held on Day 3 and Day 4 to deliberate key issues under
three broad topics: a) capacity building for CITES implementation; b) co-ordination/co-operation formonitoring and enforcement of harvest/trade; and c) review of markets and international trade.
4) Outcomes/Results: Following active participation by all meeting delegates in the working groups, thefollowing were agreed by the plenary:a) Definitions:i) A Definition of Artificial Propagation to cover agarwood-producing species is needed toassist CITES implementation for agarwood-producing species. This should be preparedspecifically for presentation to the Conference of the Parties, with reference to the existing CITES
Res. Conf. 10.13 (Rev. CoP13). As such, it is proposed to amend the current definition of“artificially propagated” for timber species as stated in Resolution Conf. 10.13 (Rev. CoP13) as to
read:
g)

timber and non-timber products taken from trees grown in monospecific plantations be
considered as being artificially propagated in accordance with the definition contained in
Resolution Conf. 11.11 (Rev. CoP13).

ii) There is a need to separate plantation-derived agarwood from wild harvested agarwood. Whileat present, the CITES source codes for Artificially Propagated and Wild sourced materials should
be enough to distinguish between these sources under CITES-permitted trade, it was recognisedthat this will need further revision once more plantation-derived agarwood comes onto the market.
iii) Various terms used in the agarwood industry (e.g. plantation-sourced materials, agarwood
dust/powder, wood chips, logs, wood pieces, oil), as well as ‘non-timber forest product’ and‘agarwood’ itself, need clear definitions. The latter was discussed with reference to when a pieceof Aquilaria/Gyrinops wood becomes ‘agarwood’. This was referred to the CITES process forstandardisation.
b) Standard Procedures:i) A standardised grading system was identified as being beneficial for the management of raw
agarwood products in trade, particularly wood chips. It was suggested that this should be thesubject of a formal study, with funding and expertise to be identified.
ii) Standardised units of measurement should be agreed for agarwood products in trade, tofacilitate better reporting and monitoring of trade.
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50c) Management of Harvest and Trade, and Enforcement:i) There is an urgent need to assess/inventory the standing stocks of wild tree populations in
producer countries. This should be referenced to the volumes of currently held agarwood stocks(i.e. raw agarwood in unprocessed forms), and conversion factors from numbers of trees to raw
agarwood. This information would assist in conducting accurate CITES Non-Detriment Findings.
ii) With the aim that CITES implementation and enforcement efforts should be focused on the
major forms of agarwood products in trade, the following results were presented towards
amending the current Annotation #1 to the specific needs of agarwood trade management:a) All raw agarwood products (currently reported under a variety of classifications –wood chips, pieces, logs, timber) should be covered by CITES controls.
b) Finished products, such as incense, perfume, should be exempted from CITES
controls.
c) CITES coverage of partially processed agarwood products such as dust/powder and oil
was debated, but no conclusion was reached. It was pointed out that while these products
are not always reported in trade, that they represent a major segment of overall agarwood
trade volume.
d) A similar lack of consensus characterised the discussions of medicinal products
containing agarwood.
e) It was also suggested that how CITES deals with fake/adulterated agarwood, and theso-called ‘black magic wood’, should be further considered.
these topics, and others, were recommended for further discussion at the 2nd International
Agarwood Conference held in Bangkok, March 2007.
iii) On definitions of personal effects and any exemptions, there was need for further discussion.
The delegation from the United Arab Emirates offered to host a similar international workshop inlate 2007 to further increase understanding of the consumer market in the Middle East, where
personal effects exemptions for agarwood under CITES could be discussed in more detail andconcrete recommendations decided upon. Dates and logistics for such a meeting would bedetermined after further deliberation by potential hosts.
iv) The application of labelling systems and registration of producers/traders was discussed
without any consensus on an international way forward. National examples of registration (e.g.
Viet Nam) were given, and some industry participants stated that their own labelling systems are
already in place. Questions were raised about potential increases in administrative costs andwhere this cost would be born.
v) On targeting illegal agarwood trade, better collaboration, co-operation and communication
between all the Parties involved to share intelligence was encouraged to combat illegal activities.
Suggested strategies included:

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51

Tap into existing law enforcement networks such as Interpol, or regional initiatives likethat which has been established under the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), theASEAN Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN);
Establish national focal contact points for agarwood law enforcement, or add agarwood
issues to the list of priorities for existing law enforcement focal points.
5) Draft CITES decisions8: In the final plenary session of the workshop, participants agreed to a numberof actions that would be best progressed through a number of new CITES decisions. The workshop participants requested that these draft decisions be submitted by Plants Committee representatives to CITES
CoP14 for approval through the Plants Committee Chairman’s report.
Draft decisions:a)Directed to the Secretariat
14.XX The Secretariat shall assist in obtaining funding from Parties, intergovernmental andnon-governmental organizations, exporters, importers and other stakeholders to support a workshop aimed
at strengthening the capacity of Parties to implement Agarwood Decisions prior to the 15th meeting of theConference of the Parties.
b) Directed to Parties involved in agarwood trade and to the Secretariat
14.XX Parties involved in trade of agarwood will, in consultation with the Secretariat, provide funds and produce identification materials for all forms of traded products under CITES control.
14.XX Parties concerned will identify and agree on which agarwood products and quantities should be exempted from CITES controls. Once agreed, Parties concerned will agree which range State
will prepare and submit a proposal for amendment of the current annotation for agarwood producing
species to be considered at CoP15.
14.XX Draft standardized units of reporting to be considered at CoP15.
14.XX Parties involved in Agarwood trade shall prepare a glossary with definitions that
illustrate the content of the amended annotations, the terms used and their practical application during
enforcement and border controls. The Secretariat should facilitate the preparation and production of thesematerials, and strategies on incorporating them into ongoing training curricula.
c)Directed to the Plants Committee and the Secretariat
14.XX In consultation with relevant intergovernmental organizations such as FAO, draft adefinition of non-timber forest products to be considered at CoP15.
14.XX On the basis of the work on non-detriment findings for Agarwood producing species,that has been developed by TRAFFIC South East Asia and the Secretariat, the Plants Committee, in consultation with range States and the Secretariat, will develop principles, criteria and indicators on the formulation of non-detriment findings for agarwood producing species.

8 At the 14th Conference of the Parties to CITES in June 2007, these draft decisions were subsequently formalized by the Parties,
with some slight amendments, into CITES Decisions 14.137 - 14.144 on Agarwood-producing taxa.

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52d) Directed to Parties, the Secretariat and intergovernmental and non-governmentalorganizations
14.XX Parties, the CITES Secretariat and intergovernmental and non-governmentalorganizations shall seek ways to share information though the establishment of networks, organization ofregional workshops, capacity-building programmes, the exchange of experiences and the identification offinancial resources.

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53

ANNEX V – Decisions pertaining to agarwood, arising from the 14th Conference of
the Parties to CITES,The Hague, June 2007
14th Conference of the Parties to CITES
Decisions on Agarwood-producing taxa
Directed to Parties involved in agarwood trade and to the Secretariat
14.137
Parties involved in trade in agarwood should, in consultation with the Secretariat, identify
funds and produce identification materials for all forms of traded products under CITES control.
14.138
Parties concerned should identify and agree on which agarwood products and quantities
should be exempted from CITES controls. Once agreed, Parties concerned should agree which range State
will prepare and submit a proposal for amendment of the current annotation for agarwood-producing
species to be considered at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
14.139Draft standardized units of reporting shall be considered at the 15th meeting of theConference of the Parties.
14.140Parties involved in agarwood trade shall prepare a glossary with definitions that illustrate
the content of the amended annotations, the terms used and their practical application during enforcement
and border controls. The Secretariat should facilitate the preparation and production of these materials, andstrategies for incorporating them in training material.
Directed to Parties and the Secretariat
14.141
Parties and the CITES Secretariat will work with intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations to seek ways to share information through the establishment of networks,
organization of regional workshops, capacity-building programmes, exchange of experiences andidentification of financial resources.
Directed to the Plants Committee and the Secretariat
14.142
In consultation with relevant intergovernmental organizations such as the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Plants Committee in consultation with the Secretariat
should draft a definition of non-timber forest products to be considered at the 15th meeting of theConference of the Parties.
14.143On the basis of the work on non-detriment findings for agarwood-producing species, thathas been developed by TRAFFIC Southeast Asia and the Secretariat, the Plants Committee, in consultation
with range States and the Secretariat, shall develop principles, criteria and indicators for the formulation of
non-detriment findings for agarwood-producing species.

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54

Directed to the Secretariat
14.144The Secretariat shall assist in obtaining funding from Parties, intergovernmental andnon-governmental organizations, exporters, importers and other stakeholders to support a workshop aimed
at strengthening the capacity of Parties to implement agarwood-related Decisions before the 15th meetingof the Conference of the Parties.

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For further information contact:

CITES Secretariat
International Environment House
11 Chemin des Anémones
CH-1219 Châtelaine, Geneva
Switzerland
Tel: +41-(0)22-917-81-39/40
Fax: +41-(0)22-797-34-17
Email: info@cites.org
Website: www.cites.org

The Director
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia
Unit 3-2, 1st Floor
Jalan SS23/11, Taman SEA
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Malaysia
Telephone: (603) 7880 3940
Fax: (603) 7882 0171
Email: tsea@po.jaring.my

October 2010

The Executive Director
TRAFFIC International
219a Huntingdon Road
Cambridge CB3 0DL
United Kingdom
Telephone: (44) 1223 277427
Fax: (44) 1223 277237
Email: traffic@traffic.org
Website: www.traffic.org