| Vietnamese agarwood could be among the best in Southeast Asia. Agarwood Industry Development Cooperation Day held in Khanh Hoa. |
Buyers can easily encounter "fake" agarwood.
According to Mr. Bien Quoc Dung, natural agarwood is currently scarce due to the shrinking area of natural forests. Furthermore, Vietnam still lacks a center for testing the quality of agarwood, resulting in a mix of genuine and fake agarwood products on the market, making control difficult.
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| Mr. Bien Quoc Dung, Chairman of the Khanh Hoa Agarwood Association, shared this at the Agarwood Craft Festival on April 10th, which featured over 150 agarwood businesses nationwide and many foreign partners. Photo: Duc Thao |
Mr. Dung said that the main raw materials for making agarwood products today are natural and artificial agarwood. However, natural agarwood is very precious, rare, and expensive, so very few establishments make products from this type of agarwood.
Currently, the product is mainly made from artificial agarwood, which is cultivated and inoculated with agarwood resin. It takes up to 15 years to produce the finished product, but not every inoculated tree will produce agarwood. Therefore, artificial agarwood is also very valuable and quite expensive.
The Chairman of the Khanh Hoa Agarwood Association shared that currently, no government agency or organization has regulations on the standards for classifying and evaluating the quality of agarwood; all assessments are made by individual businesses. On the market, the price of agarwood incense products ranges from a few hundred thousand dong to tens of millions dong "depending on quality and type," while the price of agarwood bracelets also varies from a few million dong to hundreds of millions dong.
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| Some handicraft products made from agarwood. Photo: Duc Thao |
"Currently, there are no specific regulations regarding the quality standards of these products. Natural agarwood bracelets advertised at cheap prices are very likely to be fake," Mr. Dung said, adding that some agarwood vendors advertising "ky nam bracelets" for only a few tens of millions of dong is completely unreasonable.
Mr. Dung explained that natural or artificial agarwood emits a mild, pleasant aroma; when burned directly, it produces white smoke that quickly dissipates, leaving a subtle fragrance. Fake agarwood, on the other hand, is black and shiny, has a very strong scent due to the use of chemicals, and produces a lot of smoke when burned, with a pungent, unpleasant smell.
A quality control center is needed.
According to Mr. Bien Quoc Dung, in the buying and selling of agarwood, classification is largely based on the seller's perception, experience, and reputation.
"Khanh Hoa is considered the capital of agarwood, with its distinctive quality and aroma. Over the years, local artisans have always strived to promote the exquisite products originating from this agarwood region. The proliferation of low-quality products on the market greatly affects the reputation and brand of the province," Mr. Dung emphasized.
To tighten quality control of agarwood on the market, protect buyers and reputable establishments and businesses, the Khanh Hoa Agarwood Association is coordinating with the Vietnam Agarwood Association and relevant authorities to establish an Agarwood Quality Testing Center, serving the entire country.
"Every citizen and business that needs to verify the quality of agarwood can bring it to the Center, which will conduct inspections and discussions," Mr. Dung hoped that the establishment of the Center would be a basis for evaluating and managing agarwood products effectively, protecting and promoting the reputation of the agarwood brand not only in Khanh Hoa but also nationwide.
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