**To prepare gaharu samples for overseas buyers, send 30-100 g of representative pieces per grade, each sealed, labelled with grade and origin, and backed by clear photos plus a moisture note. Serious Gulf and China buyers judge resin, sinking behaviour, and aroma before any bulk order, so accuracy beats volume every time.**
A sample is a promise. When a buyer in Riyadh, Dubai, or Guangzhou opens your parcel, they are deciding whether the wood you ship in bulk will match what they held in their hand. Overpromise on the sample and the whole deal dies at inspection. This guide walks through the sizes, paperwork, grading, and packaging that overseas wood buyers actually expect from an Indonesian gaharu (agarwood) supplier.
One honesty note before anything else: gaharu comes from Aquilaria, a CITES Appendix II species. Legal export requires a CITES permit and a BKSDA (Balai Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam) recommendation, and even sample shipments can fall under those rules. Gaharu Export is a sourcing broker and information hub, not a permit authority. Confirm current requirements with the CITES Management Authority (Indonesia) and your import country before you ship anything across a border.
What sample sizes do overseas gaharu buyers actually ask for?
Most first-time buyers want just enough to test, not enough to trade. For chips and wood pieces, 30-100 g per grade is the working norm. For oud oil, a 1-3 ml vial is plenty for a nose assessment. The point is to represent the lot honestly, so pull sample pieces from the same batch you would sell, never a cherry-picked “hero” chip.
Before you cut anything, decide which lots you are representing. The same grades you would list as gaharu wood samples on a price sheet should be the grades in the box, so the buyer can map each sealed pouch straight to a quotable band.
| Product form | Typical sample size | What the buyer tests |
|---|---|---|
| Gubal / high-resin chips | 30-50 g per grade | Sinking, resin ratio, aroma when heated |
| Kemedangan / mid-grade wood | 50-100 g per grade | Colour, density, smoke quality |
| Powder / bubuk | 50-100 g | Fill purity, no adulteration |
| Oud / agarwood oil | 1-3 ml in glass | Top note, dry-down, viscosity |
Match the sample count to the buyer’s seriousness. A trading-house scout may want three or four grades side by side; a single perfumer may only need one oil vial. Sending a fat, expensive parcel to an unqualified lead just burns inventory that, at the top end, runs into serious money — the canonical brand band is USD 500-7,000/kg for plantation chips (grade-dependent) and USD 30,000-80,000/kg for oud oil (as of 2026, indicative; final quotes confirm grade and scope).
Which documents must travel with each gaharu sample?
Documentation is what separates a broker from a hobbyist. Overseas buyers, especially structured importers in China and the Gulf, expect a paper trail that lets them verify grade, origin, and legality. A Middle East buyer such as
Include a one-page spec sheet per grade rather than one vague cover note. Buyers cross-check the physical sample against the sheet, so keep the two aligned to the gram.
| Document | Purpose | Keep it specific |
|---|---|---|
| Sample spec sheet | States grade, weight, moisture, origin region | One sheet per grade, dated |
| Origin declaration | Plantation vs wild, tree age (maturation is typically 7-15 years) | Name the region: Kalimantan, Papua, Ambon, Sumbawa |
| Grade photos | Visual reference for the bulk lot | Ruler in frame, natural light |
| Pricing indication | Ties sample to a quotable band | Date-stamp it, mark indicative |
| Legality note | Flags CITES / BKSDA pathway | State that the permit is confirmed at order stage |
On origin, be precise and truthful. No public source names Bali as a gaharu production origin; Bali’s role is trade and hub, not source. If your wood comes from Kalimantan or Papua, say Kalimantan or Papua. Buyers who catch a fudged origin assume the grade is fudged too.
How should you grade and label samples before shipping?
Grade the sample the way the buyer will, not the way you hope. The three signals that decide grade are resin content, whether the piece sinks in water, and aroma when gently heated. High-resin gubal sinks; lighter kemedangan floats. Indonesian grade language runs from double super and super tanggung down through TG-B, kemedangan, and gaharu teri, and export lists get more granular still, from Double King and Super King at the top down to Medang C at entry level.
Label every pouch with a short, honest code:
- Grade name in both the local term and an export equivalent (for example, “super tanggung / A Super”).
- Net weight in grams, weighed dry.
- Origin region and whether plantation or wild-sourced.
- Batch or lot ID that matches your internal records and the spec sheet.
- Date the sample was cut and packed.
Consistency here pays off later. When a buyer reorders, that lot ID lets you reproduce the exact grade they approved, which is the whole reason samples exist.
How do you package gaharu samples so aroma and resin survive transit?
Agarwood sells on scent, and scent leaks. A poorly packed sample arrives flat and gets scored a grade low. Seal each piece to trap its aroma and protect the resin from heat and crushing.
- Seal individually. Use resealable foil or zip pouches per grade so aromas do not cross-contaminate and the buyer can open one at a time.
- Protect oil separately. Ship oud oil in amber glass vials with tight caps, wrapped and boxed so they cannot roll or crack.
- Cushion against crushing. Wrap fragile high-resin chips; a shattered gubal chip reads as low density.
- Keep it cool and dry. Avoid leaving parcels in hot vehicles; heat drives off volatile aroma compounds.
- Label the outer box plainly and declare contents accurately for customs, in line with the CITES paperwork your export requires.
Small retail comparisons show why care matters: a Saudi retail example in 2025 priced roughly 66 g of chips at about Rp 25.8 million, and 1 g at around Rp 390,000. At those values, a sample that degrades in transit is not a minor loss, it is a lost account.
What legal steps gate a sample before it leaves Indonesia?
Even a small commercial sample of Aquilaria can trigger CITES controls. Guidance from 2023-2025 points to proving legal origin through KLHK, obtaining a BKSDA recommendation for wild sources, ASGARIN membership, and a CITES export permit valid up to about six months, with processing that can take up to roughly 60 days for some destinations. Central Kalimantan, for context, received an export quota of 4,000 tons in 2023.
Gaharu Export helps you assemble and present this trail, but it does not issue permits and cannot guarantee a customs outcome. Treat the legal step as the first gate, not the last: confirm the current rules with the CITES Management Authority (Indonesia) and your import country before a single sample crosses a border.
Frequently Asked Questions
How small can a gaharu sample be and still show its true grade?
Around 30-50 g of chips is usually the practical floor. That gives the buyer enough to see the resin cross-section, run a sinking test in water, and heat a piece to judge aroma. Below roughly 20 g, high-resin gubal can look unrepresentative. For oud oil, 1-3 ml in a sealed glass vial is enough to assess top note and dry-down.
Do I need a CITES permit just to send a small gaharu sample abroad?
Often, yes. Aquilaria is CITES Appendix II, and commercial samples crossing a border can fall under the same permit and BKSDA-recommendation rules as a bulk shipment. Requirements vary by destination and by whether the wood is plantation or wild. Confirm the current position with the CITES Management Authority (Indonesia) and your import country. Gaharu Export is a broker and info hub, not a permit authority.
How do I stop gaharu samples losing their aroma during long shipping?
Seal each grade in its own foil or zip pouch so scents do not mix, and ship oud oil in tightly capped amber glass. Keep parcels out of hot vehicles and direct sun, since heat drives off the volatile compounds that carry the smell. Cushion high-resin chips against crushing, and avoid long delays in transit whenever the destination and courier allow.