Trade Ministry Should Set Quality Standard of Agarwood

Pangkalpinang, Babel - Association of Indonesian Agarwood Exporters (Asgarin) chairman Manshur has expressed hope that the Ministry of Trade would set the quality standard of agarwood or gaharu. "Indonesia is the world's biggest agarwood exporter and we hoped the government through the Ministry of Trade will immediately set its quality standard so that the farmers have a clear basis for improving the production and quality of the commodity," Manshur said in Pangkalpinang, Bangka-Belitung (Babel,) on Friday. He explained that the government has not set the standardization of quality of agarwood because the exported commodities were taken from nature and cultivated in a number of provinces. Although the government has not set the standard of agarwood, Mansur called on agarwood farmers to study the quality from the exporters. According to him, black agarwood which sinks in water is of high quality, while the brownish one streaked with black resin is of medium quality, while those of low quality are light yellow. "High quality agarwood is black with a nice smell and sinks in water, while the brownish ones are worth Rp5 million per kilogram," he said. Mansur said that agarwood is a potential and promising commodity because its high economic value that could raise the standard of living of the community. "Agarwood is no longer a dominant sector, but has become highly valuable because Indonesia is the world's biggest agarwood exporter for international markets," he said. Therefore he expressed hope that Bangka Tengah district with more than 380,871 agarwood trees could be a pioneer and supplier of gaharu to the international market. (*)