The myrrh tree that's key to luxury perfumes and African incomes is
threatened by drought
[April 11, 2026] By
JULIANNE GUARON
AFCADDE, Ethiopia (AP) — The critical note in some of the world’s most
well-known perfumes is myrrh, a tree resin from the Horn of Africa that
is under pressure from what experts call a historic drought.
Threatened by the lack of water and nibbled by starving livestock, the
trees that once formed a dense forest in the Somali region of Ethiopia
are in danger, locals say.
Earlier this year, researchers supported by the American Herbal Products
Association visited a source of the prized resin that makes its way to
global markets from some of the most vulnerable places on earth.
The goal: To ensure that those who harvest the resin get more of the
direct profits instead of middlemen along the opaque supply chain.
Ethiopia is a major source of myrrh, which has been used in beauty,
health and religious practices since at least ancient Egypt. Traditional
harvesting in the region has not changed, which helps to protect the
trees and produces the highest quality resin.
Myrrh’s hand-harvested nature raises its price, but those doing the work
see little of the profit. Collecting a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the
resin brings as little as $3.50 and as much as $10.
That’s far from the prices for the perfumes it helps to create, which
are marketed by well-known fashion brands like Tom Ford, Comme des
Garcons and Jo Malone and sold at prices as high as $500 a bottle.
Meanwhile, curiosity about myrrh’s other potential uses is growing with
increased global interest in natural remedies.
For now, most myrrh from this part of eastern Ethiopia is purchased by
traders from neighboring Somalia. Ethiopia collects no taxes on the
goods.
Locals hope more visibility will help them as the climate crisis
threatens their ways of life.
“They expressed hope that a direct market would enable them to secure
better prices, ensuring sustainable livelihoods,” said Abdinasir
Abdikadir Aweys, senior researcher with the Somali Regional Pastoral and
Agro-Pastoral Research Institute and a member of the research team.
The researchers were led by Anjanette DeCarlo, an expert in sustainable
supply chains and resins at the University of Vermont, and Stephen
Johnson, resin expert and owner of FairSource Botanicals. They found
that communities practice traditional harvesting by collecting resin
from trees’ naturally occurring wounds instead of by making intentional
cuts, which makes trees more vulnerable to pests and disease.
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Members of a research team hold pieces of naturally exudated resin
from myrrh, locally called suhul, which is extremely high quality
and fragrant, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Afcadde, Ethiopia. (AP
Photo/Julianne Gauron)
 “Traditional practice is in balance
and protects trees. It should be celebrated,” DeCarlo said.
But the drought worried the team. The annual rains have been failing
over the past several years, interrupted in 2023 by devastating
flooding.
The arid region has long seen droughts, but this one has been
historic. Experts have blamed the changing climate.
Myrrh harvesting is threatened. While adult trees are generally
healthy, they are producing less resin. And fewer young trees are
surviving.
“Unfortunately, many seedlings are uprooted by children who graze
their livestock nearby, and the animals often eat the buds of the
young trees,” said a local elder, Mohamed Osman Miyir, adding: “We
are deeply worried about the declining population of myrrh trees.”
Without proper rain, other young trees are likely to fail. DeCarlo
worried that eventually even the adult trees will die.
Villagers’ days are spent hauling water for themselves and their
livestock. Herders travel over the parched, cracked earth as far as
200 kilometers to Sanqotor village, which has a rare well with
water.
“Guests water animals first, then the villagers,” said local headman
Ali Mohamed, watching hundreds of livestock crowd around the well.
But not everyone has livestock to survive. The poorest residents
rely solely on tree resin like myrrh for their survival.
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