Indonesia’s agarwood chip trade grades resin, not wood. The Super A to C system ranks chips by how much fragrant resin has saturated the timber: Super A holds the densest, tiger-striped resin and sinks in water; Super B and C carry progressively less; Sabak and dust sit at the bottom of the ladder.
That single idea — resin content decides everything — is the key to reading any Indonesian grade sheet. More resin means higher density, stronger aroma, and a steeper price. What follows unpacks how graders judge resin load, what each tier looks like, and how to avoid paying Super A money for dressed-up Super C.
One caveat before the tables. These grade names are trade conventions, not law. They shift by region, trader, and buyer tradition, and no official Indonesian national standard pins “Super A” to a lab number. Wood from Papua and Maluku is often marketed a tier above Kalimantan or plantation stock for the same visible resin, so anchor the grade to a physical test, never a printed label.
What separates Super A from Super C?
Indonesian chips are commonly sorted across roughly nine grades. The tiers buyers actually haggle over are Super A, Super B, Super C, and Sabak; most of the rest simply describe wood size and how much resin survives in the offcuts. Here is how the working tiers line up.
| Grade tier | Resin saturation | Water test | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super A | Very high; dense black-brown tiger-stripe veining | Sinks fully | Premium chips, carving, high-end incense |
| Super B | High but uneven veining | Sinks or partly sinks | Incense, distillation feedstock |
| Super C | Moderate resin streaks | Usually floats | Incense blends, mid-market chips |
| Sabak | Light resin, mostly pale wood | Floats | Budget incense, powder feedstock |
| Kemedangan / dust | Minimal resin | Floats | Powder, oil distillation, filler |
Super A is not a brand — it is the visual and physical top of the resin curve. Drop to Super B and C and the black-brown streaks thin out, more pale wood shows through, and the chip is far likelier to float. Sabak and the kemedangan grades are mostly wood carrying a whisper of scent, sold cheap for powder and distillation feedstock.
How do graders actually test a chip?
Serious buyers ignore the printed grade and run three checks. Grading rests on density, resin saturation, and aromatic intensity — and a genuine Super A passes all three, not just one.
- Density (the water test). Drop the chip in water. Resin is heavier than wood fibre, so a heavily saturated chip sinks. A fully sinking chip is the headline claim behind any sinking agarwood chips grade, and it is the single hardest property to fake at scale.
- Resin saturation (the tiger-stripe test). Cut or scratch the surface. Real resin shows as irregular black-brown “tiger-stripe” veining running through pale wood. A uniform, plastic-like black usually means dye or wax, not resin.
- Aromatic intensity (the heat test). Warm a sliver on a hot plate or over steam. High-resin chips release a deep, sweet, long-lasting smoke; low grades give a thin, quick, woody note that fades within seconds.
Because higher resin content correlates with stronger fragrance and higher density, these three tests usually agree. When they disagree — a chip that sinks but barely smells, for example — treat the grade claim with suspicion.
Why do sinking chips sit at the top?
Sinking is the closest thing the trade has to an honest, on-the-spot proof of resin load. Wood floats; resin-packed wood sinks. That is why sinking-grade material commands the steepest premiums and why it maps so closely to Super A and the better end of Super B.
It helps to be realistic about how wide the value gap runs. Trade commentary in 2026 notes that superior pure wild agarwood can reach around USD 290,000 per kilogram, while artificial or young plantation material may sit near USD 100 per kilogram — the same genus, graded worlds apart by resin. The pattern is old, too: TRAFFIC’s report “Heart of the Matter: Agarwood Use and Trade” recorded field data from Apau Kayan in East Kalimantan in 1997, where super grade A agarwood was quoted at IDR 1,250,000 per kilogram, about USD 450 at the time.
What do the grades cost today?
Prices track the grade band, not a single number. As of 2026, plantation agarwood chips run roughly USD 500 to 7,000 per kilogram depending on grade, from low-resin to super, and oud/agarwood oil runs USD 30,000 to 80,000 per kilogram — indicative figures, with a final quote confirming grade and scope. At retail, buyer guides break the chips down per 10 grams, with natural oud oil quoted anywhere from USD 200 to over USD 1,000 per millilitre.
| Grade | Indicative retail per 10 g |
|---|---|
| Low grade C / D | USD 5–15 |
| Mid grade B / A | USD 20–60 |
| Premium Super A | USD 100–300+ |
| Cultivated B-grade (example) | USD 20–40 |
| Wild A-grade (example) | USD 50–120 |
| Agarwood powder | USD 10–25 |
The lesson in that table: origin and grade both move the needle. Wild A-grade chips can sell at double a cultivated B-grade for the same weight, and premium Super A can run ten times a mid-grade chip. Read the two price sets as different units — the per-kilogram band is the export and wholesale reality; the per-10-gram figures are small-quantity retail.
How do you spot a faked or dressed chip?
Fakery is common because the margins are enormous. Watch for these tells:
- Oil-soaked wood. Cheap wood soaked in agarwood or synthetic oil smells strong cold, but the scent vanishes fast on heat and leaves an oily residue.
- Dyed or waxed surfaces. A flat, even black with no natural veining is a red flag; real resin is streaked, not painted.
- Weighted chips. Some sellers inject wax, sugar syrup, or metal filings to force a “sink.” A genuine sinker still smells like resin when heated.
- A grade with no test. If a seller quotes Super A but will not let you run a water or heat test, that grade is marketing, not a measurement.
One honesty note that matters for anyone buying to export: Aquilaria is listed under CITES Appendix II, so legal export requires a CITES export permit and a BKSDA recommendation, and is subject to a Non-Detriment Finding — Indonesia’s 2024 NDF set a wild Aquilaria malaccensis quota of 24,110 kg. CITES paperwork also separates source code W (wild) from P (plantation), and plantation material is generally easier to permit and more sustainable. This is a sourcing and information hub, not a permit authority; confirm current requirements with the CITES Management Authority (Indonesia) and your import country, and never treat a grade claim as a customs guarantee.
Want a graded, plantation-first quote you can act on? Send your target grade, volume, and destination market to the Agarwood Export trade desk on WhatsApp 6281139414563 or bd@juaraholding.com. Quotes come back within 24 business hours, priced against the grade band above and matched to legal, sustainable sourcing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kyara the same as Indonesian Super A grade?
No. Kyara is a Japanese connoisseur term for the rarest, softest, most complex agarwood, judged by aroma tradition rather than a resin percentage. Indonesian trade grading tops out at “Super A,” defined by density, tiger-stripe resin, and sinking. Some Super A chips reach Kyara quality, but the two systems come from different traditions and are not interchangeable labels.
Can plantation agarwood ever reach Super A grade?
Yes, though it is uncommon. Grade follows resin content, not origin, so well-inoculated, mature plantation trees can produce sinking, heavily veined chips that test as Super A. In practice most plantation stock grades lower and sells nearer the USD 100-per-kilogram end, while the densest Super A material still tends to come from older wild trees in Papua and Maluku.
Does a higher grade always mean the chip will sink?
Not always. Sinking proves high resin density, which usually means a high grade — but a large, thick Super B chip can trap air and float briefly, while a small saturated fragment sinks fast. Graders combine the water test with the tiger-stripe and heat tests rather than trusting sink-or-float alone, because size and shape affect buoyancy independently of resin.