Centre Approves Guwahati Airport for Assam Agarwood Exports

On 30 October 2026, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) approved Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati as an export point for agarwood oil, chips and allied products. The notification amends Chapter 12 of Schedule II of the ITC (HS) Export Policy, 2022, allowing direct international shipments from Assam.

Export approval and Assam’s agarwood sector

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the approval followed a request from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Exports remain subject to applicable rules, including Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) permits for listed species and restricted export licences issued by the DGFT.

Assam accounts for about 81% of India’s agarwood production and has nearly 12 crore agarwood plants. The sector supports more than 50,000 farmers and workers. Golaghat district’s agarwood products are covered under the One District One Product initiative. Industry stakeholders estimate the sector could access a market worth Rs 50,000 crore if cultivation, processing and exports expand.

Before the approval, Assam exported its first legally approved consignment of agarwood chips, worth Rs 2.35 crore, to Saudi Arabia and the UAE in May 2026. In October, a 123 kg consignment of premium chips was flagged off from Guwahati to Dubai. The export point is expected to ease logistics for producers and exporters across Assam and the Northeast.

Important Facts for Exams

• Resin formation: Agarwood forms when Aquilaria heartwood is infected by a mould; the tree responds by secreting resin, which makes the wood darker and denser.
• Natural occurrence: In natural forests, only about seven in every hundred Aquilaria trees of the same species become infected and produce agarwood.
• DGFT exporter identification: DGFT issues India's Importer Exporter Code (IEC), generally required for entities exporting or importing goods, subject to specified exemptions.
• Retail-product exemption: CITES listing annotation #14 exempts certain finished agarwood products packaged for retail sale, but excludes beads, prayer beads and carvings.