Agar Wood

Agar wood, also known as aloeswood, eaglewood, or gharuwood, is a black resinous wood that is used in incense, perfume, and miniature carvings. When aquilaria trees become infested with a sort of mold, it forms in the heartwood (Phialophora parasitica). The tree produces a dark aromatic resin called aloes (not to be confused with Aloe ferox, the succulent often known as the bitter aloe) or agar as well as gaharu, jinko, oud, or oodh aguru in response to the attack, resulting in a very dense, dark, resin-embedded heartwood. In Indian-North Eastern tradition, the resin-embedded wood is prized for its particular aroma, and it is used to make incense and perfumes.

The loss of the wild resource is one of the key causes for agarwood's relative scarcity and high price. First-grade agarwood is one of the world's most costly natural raw resources, with prices as high as US$100,000/kg in 2010, yet adulteration of the wood and oil is prevalent, allowing for costs as low as US$100/kg in actuality. There are a variety of qualities and goods on the market, with quality varied according to geographical region, botanical species, age of the tree, cultural deposition, and the portion of the tree from which the agarwood stems. The present global market for agarwood is projected to be in the range of US$6–8 billion as of 2013, and it is fast rising.