Frankincense, long associated with religious ritual and Christmas, is seeing rising global demand today, fueled by the booming “wellness” industry and the revival of practices such as meditation and “natural” remedies. Yet at the other end of the supply chain, wild Boswellia trees—the source of the resin—are being pushed toward depletion.
Production is concentrated in the Horn of Africa (Somaliland, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan), where traditional harvesting relies on few cuts and long recovery periods. In reality, low pay for harvesters, weak regulation, and volatile prices encourage excessive tapping. Research indicates trees may need more than 10 years to recover from overexploitation, while some areas show collapsing Boswellia populations and near-absent natural regeneration, with few young trees.
The situation is worsened by climate change (drought and extreme weather), pests, overgrazing, and fires. Despite high retail prices in Western markets, collectors often receive only a tiny share (roughly $2–$5 per kilogram), while intermediaries capture most of the profit—especially where political instability limits oversight. Experts warn that without strong sustainability incentives, output could fall sharply over the next two decades. Pilot approaches include traceability tools linking batches to ecological data, monitoring tree health, and direct payments to producers. Large-scale cultivation is also discussed, though it may create new pressures on land and water. The bottom line: to keep frankincense from becoming scarce, the market must pay the true cost of sustainability—otherwise its scent may become a rare memory.
