"Hungry" for raw materials for the incense industry

People in Block 1, Tan Lac Town (Quy Chau) produce incense for Lunar New Year. Photo: Quang An

Worry about lack of raw materials

At this time, in the incense capital of Quy Chau, families working in the profession are concentrating on 2-3 people to produce, in order to have enough goods to serve Tet and festivals. However, many households working in the profession cannot hide their worries. Mr. Le Van Than, Tan Huong 2 block, Tan Lac town complained: "I have been doing this incense profession for decades, but there has never been a year when the price of raw materials has increased like this year while the selling price of the product has not changed."

That is also the common sentiment of dozens of households making incense in Tan Lac town. The main raw material for making incense is the agarwood root, however, the local raw material cannot meet the production demand of the biggest crop of the year, so people have to import agarwood roots from Quynh Luu, Tan Ky, Thanh Chuong districts...

Most incense makers now have to import raw materials at prices nearly double those of previous years. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Le Van Duc - Head of Tan Huong 2 block said: The whole block has 14 households making incense every year, however, up to 10 households have to import 100% of raw materials to make the job, a few remaining households have garden areas to grow incense roots but it is not significant.

Ms. Nga in Block 1, Tan Lac town shared: Every year, the price of dried incense roots ranges from 3.5 - 4 million VND/quintal, but at the beginning of this year's crop, the import price has reached 6.5 - 7 million VND/quintal.

Some lucky households were able to collect raw materials early at affordable prices, but most incense makers now have to import raw materials at prices nearly double those of previous years.

In addition to the high price of input materials, other issues such as hiring workers and production machinery also face many concerns, and people are worried that they will not make a profit this crop year. It is expected that this year's incense output will decrease because people are afraid to make large investments.

Incense output is expected to decrease this year due to high raw material prices. Photo: Quang An

Improve the ability to take care of "input" on the spot
The incense making profession in Quy Chau has existed for decades. Currently, the whole district has 1 cooperative and 6 incense villages in 5 communes and towns, of which Tan Lac town alone has 1 cooperative and 1 incense village with nearly 100 households. On average, each household produces hundreds of thousands of incense trees, after deducting expenses, the profit is from 60 to 70 million VND.

Most incense makers now have to import raw materials at prices nearly double those of previous years. Photo: Quang An

Due to high input costs, prioritizing increasing the area of ​​​​growing aromatic roots and sourcing local raw materials is currently considered one of the necessary solutions to help people feel secure and stabilize production.

In particular, the roots of incense grown in Quy Chau have essential oils and are much more fragrant than roots imported from other places. Quy Chau district has been experimenting with growing incense roots since 2006. After evaluating the economic value of growing this plant, the district has had a policy to encourage people to expand the area, supporting 60% of the seed price for households reclaiming new land for planting.

Agarwood roots are grown on the hills in Quy Chau, but the area of ​​raw materials is not enough for production. Photo: Quang An