Conclusion first: 2026 agarwood prices show "one market, two trends"—scarce goods like wild aged material and qinan(kyara) are stable with gains; industry media statistics for the past five years show wild material rising 15%–30% annually on average, and most industry accounts expect a further 10%–20% in 2026; while supply of plantation material expands, mid- and low-end prices stay flat, with some categories even inverted. For buyers, the most expensive buying windows of the year are before Spring Festival and before Mid-Autumn Festival; March–April and June are relatively flat price periods, suitable for taking time to pick goods.
Key Points
- In 2026 wild material continues to strengthen while plantation material stays flat and diverges; the two-polar market is the main theme of the year.
- Public market price ranges: Star洲 everyday material about 50–200 yuan/gram, ordinary wild sinking grade aged material about 6000–12000 yuan/gram, wild qinan(kyara) sinking grade collector material about 10000–25000 yuan/gram.
- Price increase windows are concentrated before festivals (Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival) and after auction season; March–April and June are traditional flat periods.
- Compliance costs rise in 2026; cross-border trade documentation requirements for CITES Appendix II species are stricter, and legitimate channel prices include a compliance premium.
- All prices are public market price ranges,subject to market conditions, for reference only。
Many incense friends ask the shopkeeper: did agarwood prices rise in 2026? This question must be answered separately.
The wild material market is rising.The logic is on the supply side: in traditional producing areas such as Nha Trang and Phu Sen in Vietnam, and Jianfengling and Bawangling in Hainan, wild resources are increasingly depleted after years of harvesting; the fine wild material circulating on the market today is mostly heirloom aged material held by early collectors and old stock reflowed from Japan and elsewhere. According to industry media's 2026 market review, ordinary wild agarwood floating-grade fragments are about 1200–3000 yuan/gram, semi-sinking grade block aged material about 3000–6000 yuan/gram, complete sinking grade aged material about 6000–12000 yuan/gram; local wild Hainan material usually carries a 30% premium, and Vietnamese Nha Trang material can carry a 50% premium. Wild material has risen 15%–30% annually on average over the past five years, and in 2026 high-quality scarce raw material still maintains an expected 10%–20% increase.
The plantation material market is flat.Artificial agarwood formation technology has been promoted for years in Hainan, Guangdong and other places, output expands year by year, and supply of plantation agarwood and plantation qinan(kyara) is ample, with prices falling rather than rising. According to public market information, in 2026 entry-level plantation qinan(kyara) is about 500–2000 yuan/gram, and ordinary plantation bracelets can be bought for 300–2000 yuan; cases of single aroma profile and slow sales are not uncommon. A friend in Hainan promoting agarwood formation technology told the shopkeeper that goods from their base "are pre-ordered by e-commerce livestream rooms before new material hits the market, but the price is pressed lower year after year."
This is the basic picture of 2026 agarwood price trends:the expensive gets more expensive, the cheap gets cheaper, and the middle ground is hardest to sell.
The table below is a reference range compiled by the shopkeeper from industry media's 2026 market reviews, public auction records and personal sourcing experience. Reminder again:subject to market conditions, for reference only, with specific prices per item.
| Grade | Typical Categories | Reference price range (yuan/gram) | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner daily | Xingzhou series floating/semi-sinking material, plantation-material bracelets | 50–500 | Beginner experience, daily wear |
| Mid-range wear | Xingzhou series sinking-grade material, Dalagan/Manilao small-origin material | 500–3000 | Personal use for incense lovers, advanced handling |
| High-end handling | Hui'an series wild sinking-grade material, Nha Trang material | 3000–10000 | Veteran collectors, gifts |
| Wild collection | Complete wild sinking-grade old material, Hainan wild material | From 6000–12000 | Collectors, investment purposes |
| Qinan (kyara) beginner | Cultivated qinan (kyara) | 500–2000 | Beginners who want to experience qinan (kyara) fragrance |
| Qinan (kyara) advanced | Sinking-grade semi-floating qinan (kyara), qinan (kyara) from core origins of Nha Trang/Hainan | 2000–8000 | Veteran incense lovers, light collection |
| Qinan (kyara) collection | Wild sinking-grade qinan (kyara) | 8000–30000 | Professional collectors |
| Top-grade qinan (kyara) | Century-old wild material, heirloom-grade qinan(kyara) | 28000–100000+ | High-end collectible, auction grade |
Two points to explain. First,The "price per gram" and "price per bracelet" of a beaded bracelet are two different things: a 20-gram sinking-grade qinan(kyara) bracelet, at 20,000 yuan/gram, comes to 400,000, but in the turning process flaws are removed, so the finished-product yield is often only 20-30%, and the cost spread over the finished product is far higher than the raw-material price per gram. Second, the table above is on a raw-material basis,the retail end also adds authentication, craftsmanship and channel costs, and the same grade of goods selling at two or three different prices through different channels is normal.
Agarwood price fluctuations within a year mainly follow three rhythms.
Prices always rise before festivals.The 45 days before Spring Festival and the 30 days before Mid-Autumn Festival are the traditional gift-giving peak seasons, when demand for high-end material, beaded bracelets and gift boxes is released in concentrated form, and merchants raise prices accordingly. According to industry statistics, the pre-festival increase for high-end categories is often 5%-15%.
The auction-season aftereffect.The high-price records set at each year's spring and autumn auctions quickly transmit to the primary market. At the 2025 Hainan wild agarwood special auction, 119 lots sold for 76.38 million yuan; at Poly Xiamen's 2026 spring auction, a 35-gram Nha Trang wild qinan(kyara) 108-bead string was estimated at 450,000-700,000. Once the auction price comes out, the same grade of spot goods immediately "rises with the tide," and merchants holding stock collectively hold back from selling.
Off-peak periods are March-April and June.After the festivals demand falls into a gap, and merchants come under pressure to recoup capital, so this is when there is the most room for inspecting goods and negotiating prices. The shopkeeper's own experience: for the same batch of Kalimantan sinking-grade material, the price difference between buying before a festival and buying in April can exceed 10%.
There was a real example last April. Incense friend Lao Zhou wanted to buy a agarwood beaded bracelet as a gift for his son's wedding; at the end of March he came across a 16mm Hui'an-system sinking-grade string quoted at 48,000, and hesitated without buying. After May Day he asked again, and the same specification had risen to 56,000 — the merchant said the goods had been sold before the festival, and any later adjustment would have to be upward. Lao Zhou later bought a batch of mid-range Sin Chew material for his own use during the June off-peak period, and told the shopkeeper: "When it comes to buying incense, timing is really harder to grasp than judgment." Actually it is not hard — just remember that prices are high before festivals and flat after them; except for urgent needs, if you are not in a hurry to give a gift, inspecting goods during the off-peak period is the most relaxed.
When buying agarwood in 2026, you need to ask one more question: "Are the documents complete?" Agarwood belongs to the genus Aquilaria in the family Thymelaeaceae, and its wild population is listed in CITES Appendix II; cross-border trade requires an import/export permit for customs clearance. According to a March 2025 report by Nanfang Net, Shenzhen Post Office Customs once seized 16.4 kilograms of agarwood and its products in export express shipments, all of which were CITES Appendix II species — the import and export of endangered-species products without legal documents, where the circumstances are serious, entails criminal liability.
Compliance costs are directly reflected in the price: wild material with complete documents is a chunk more expensive than "three-no" loose goods, but you buy with peace of mind. For ordinary buyers, the shopkeeper offers two reminders: first,for large-value wild-material transactions, have the other party provide source and compliance documentation, which a legitimate supplier can produce; second, do not stock up when traveling abroad as an individual — according to an April 2025 Indian CBIC customs directive, the limit for travelers carrying for personal use is 1 kilogram of wood chips, 24 milliliters of essential oil and two bead strings; anything over that requires a CITES certificate.
When it comes to market trends, you look at the overall direction, and what you earn is patience. If you need a current-season price quotation list, you can go tothe contact pageand leave a message; the shopkeeper will give reference ranges based on your budget.
Wild material continues its upward trend; industry media statistics show an average annual increase of 15%–30% over the past five years, with an expected 10%–20% in 2026; plantation material is flat, with prices for some categories inverted. There are great differences between different tiers and different producing regions. The ranges in the table above are for reference only; actual transactions are subject to case-by-case negotiation.
Within a year, the off-peak periods are March–April and June after Spring Festival. After the holiday, demand drops off and merchants recover cash flow, so there is the most room for negotiation. The 45 days before Spring Festival and the 30 days before Mid-Autumn Festival are the most expensive windows. If you're not in a hurry to use it, inspecting goods during the off-peak period is the most relaxed.
Because under the word "agarwood", the tiers are extremely wide: from ordinary plantation material at a few dozen yuan per gram to top-grade wild qinan(kyara) at 100,000 yuan per gram, all are called agarwood. Behind the price differences are differences in oil content, producing region, wild/plantation, authenticity, and sales channel. Discussing price per gram apart from the actual item is meaningless.
Explain your specific situation clearly, and we will give the corresponding judgment and suggestions—sourcing, personal use, and authentication are all accepted.
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