Rare fragrant wood should be protected

Rare fragrant wood should be protected

The uncontrolled purchase of some of the most expensive fragrant wood in the world - agarwood (Aquilaria crassna) in central Vietnam demonstrates the need to conserve the valuable commodity.
Ba To moutain town in central Quang Ngai province has seen hundreds of people arrive in recent days to buy agarwood, called ky nam in Vietnamese, discovered by local lumberjacks.
However, as ky nam is banned for sale in Vietnam, most deals take place secretly and local residents sell the precious wood at low prices because they did not know about its real value.
At Tot village, one kilo of ky nam sold for only VND2 million (US$124.8) in the first days but its price later rose to VND10 million, then VND100 million and VND200 million ($12,488).
After transporting ky nam from the village, traders offered VND700 million ($43,709) for per kilo.
Stored by many as an asset, the wood is revered for its medicinal properties and aromatic essence.
Some traders said in sales abroad, mostly to Taiwan, Vietnamese agarwood would be 1.5 or two times higher than the domestic sales.
Those who find the precious wood in the forest must remain hidden to avoid the detection of forest rangers as they transport the wood for sale.
The current situation suggests the government should regulate the trade to improve the value of the precious wood on the world market, and control what commodities are left in the forest to make it a sustainable industry.
Since the country has already organized many auctions on recovered antiques, diamonds and bird’s nests (an Asian delicacy), perhaps agar could also be controlled through the auction process.
Reported by Dang Ngoc Khoa – Translated by Thu Thuy