Article

Grading of Agarwood in The World

The formation of agarwood is attributed to a complex web of environmental factors including the species of the tree, climate, soil, effects of fungal stimulation, position of formation, duration of formation as well as shape and size. Due to variations in objective criteria, the assessment and grading of agarwood is a broad and profound topic of study. Until today, a comprehensive and internationally acknowledged set of standards for assessing and grading agarwood has yet to emerge. Therefore, assessment still relies on the experience and knowledge of experienced members of the industry, and variations in grading systems may occur even within the same region, for example, between the levels of wholesaling and retailing. The standards for grading agarwood differ among countries:

Malaysia: Mainly divided into twelve grades, including the six grades “Double Super”, “Super”, “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”, in which “A” and “B” are subdivided into two sub-grades, “C” is subdivided into four sub-grades and “D” is subdivided into two sub-grades.

Indonesia: Mainly divided into nine grades, with the first four being “Super A”, “Super B ”, “Super C ” and “ Sabak ”. The rest are graded according to the amount of resin content and the size of the wood piece.

India: Mainly graded as “Triple Super”, “Double Super”, “Super”, grades A, B, C, D and etc. (information provided by a member of the industry in India)

Vietnam: Due to the wide distribution of agarwood produce, five grades have been established according to the places of production from the North to the South. Kinam is classified by four grades.
(Institute of Agarwood)