Guwahati, Aug. 12 -- The Centre has unveiled a roadmap to turn the Northeast's vast agarwood resources into a globally competitive industry, with a focus on processing, technology, branding and exports rather than merely supplying raw material to international luxury markets.

The roadmap was released at an industry summit on the prospects and export of agarwood oil from India, organised by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) and CHEMEXCIL in New Delhi on August 11.

The Northeast accounts for more than 96% of India's estimated 139.89 million agarwood trees, with Assam alone accounting for around 114.3 million trees and Tripura about 15.15 million. The resource is also found in Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and oth...