The Bangladeshi Agarwood Industry : Development Barriers and a Potential Way Forward

Agarwood (which has various names around the Asia and Pacific region) is one of the most expensive non-timber wood products of the world. Bangladesh is producing three major products namely agar-wood, agar-oil and agar dust. It has many uses in the cosmetics (especially perfume) and medicine sectors. Agarwood has traditional, religious moreover cultural uses in different parts of the world. In addition to various Asian countries, agarwood has a long history in Bangladesh, especially in Moulvibazar and nearby districts. However, a few constraints are creating hurdles for a flourishing agarwood sector in Bangladesh. This paper provides first some background on the agarwood sector in Bangladesh and concentrates then on identifying development barriers of the agarwood sector in Bangladesh. Based on the identified development barriers, it then suggests a few recommendations. Proper regulatory support from the government could play a vital role to make it one of the major foreign currency earning sectors for Bangladesh