India hosts nearly 150 million agarwood trees as of January 2026, with about 90% located in the North-eastern Region (NER). The agarwood market in Tripura is projected to reach an annual turnover of Rs 2,000 crore by 2026-2027, up from Rs 100 crore currently.
Agarwood Value Chain Development Scheme
On 24 January 2026, the Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) laid the foundation stone for an ₹80 crore Agarwood Value Chain Development Scheme in North Fulkabari, Tripura. The scheme includes establishing two Central Processing Centres (CPCs) in Golaghat, Assam, and Tripura for processing, branding, and marketing agarwood products to enhance farmer incomes and exports.
Export Promotion and Quotas
Export quotas under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) were increased in January 2026. Annual export quotas for agarwood chips rose from 25,000 kg to 151,080 kg, and for agarwood oil from 1,500 kg to 7,050 kg. These measures aim to boost agarwood exports from the NER.
Government Initiatives and Support
The government is pursuing a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for agarwood and integrating export applications into the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) portal. A strategic roadmap for sustainable agarwood cultivation, processing, and trade in the NER was approved in 2024 following recommendations from an Inter-Ministerial Task Force in 2023. Area-expansion plans supported by geospatial mapping are encouraged, especially in Assam and Tripura. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced government support for agarwood cultivation in the Northeast during the 2026 budget speech. The Northeast region accounts for the majority of India’s agarwood resources. Government schemes and export facilitation aim to develop agarwood as a significant economic sector in the region.
Last Modified: April 20, 2026