ABSTRACTGaharu has been traded in East Kalimantan before the Hindu Kingdom
Kutai period. However, the nineteen eighties to nineties was perhaps the
glory period for gaharu trade in East Kalimantan. There are only little detail
information regarding gaharu in East Kalimantan. The information on gaharu
trade can only be extracted through anthropological studies on indigenous
community conducted by foreigner. Therefore, this study was undertaken to
gain more information on gaharu trade in East Kalimantan that included
harvest and chain of custody. For the purposes, 1 exporter, 3 middlemen and
4 hunters in East Kalimantan were interviewed during the study.
Hunter, middlemen, collector and exporter are identified as the 4 actors
that played in the gaharu trade in East Kalimantan. The gaharu trade is open
and does not bind the actors involved. Gaharu has been traded using land
transportation, although in some area sea transportation seems more
practical. Up until now, Samarinda is the center of gaharu trade in East
Kalimantan where all big investors are located. Gaharu has been traded
legally to Jakarta, Singapore and the Middle East. In addition, gaharu been traded to Banjarmasin. However, Gaharu has often been smuggled to
Malaysia.
In the past five years gaharu production increased significantly along
with the increasing number of gaharu traders in East Kalimantan. Gaharu
harvest is dominantly found in the center of East Kalimantan. Mahakam
upstream that covers Kutai Kertanegara and West Kutai is identified as the
most targeted location for gaharu hunt in East Kalimantan. The lowest quality
gaharu now dominates the gaharu market in East Kalimantan. It triggered the
gaharu oil invention in East Kalimantan
