Why Frankincense And Myrrh Are So Expensive | So Expensive

frankincense and myrrh are perhaps best known for their biblical connotations but this tree sap has been prized across the world for over 6 000 years these fragrant incense pieces come from the berseracei family of trees and are found across the horn of africa and the arabian peninsula but despite recent attempts to protect these trees they could soon be headed for extinction so what makes frankincense and myrrh so expensive there are roughly 550 species of bursaraceae a collection of trees often referred to as the incense tree family recognizable for their flaking aromatic bark and fragrant sap but true frankincense comes from only a small fraction of those species [Music] almost frankincense is a milky white resin derived from boswellia trees which are remarkable for their ability to grow in unforgiving conditions in fact these trees have been known to grow out of solid rock myrrh on the other hand is a reddish resin extracted from comethora trees the process of extracting sap from boswellia and comphora trees is virtually identical incisions or taps are made in the bark of the tree which create injury the trees produce a gummy resin like a scab as a protection against the injury the resin then hardens into teardrop pieces more incisions are made at important intervals to continue the production of resin exudates the resin granules collected from the trees must be separated into different grades first grade a frankincense is clear white and without impurities smaller pieces of the same high quality granules are separated within a sieve and classified as first grade b frankincense the grades gradually deteriorate based on the size and the amount of impurities such as bark infused into the resin low quality frankincense is mainly sold for local market consumption whereas grades 1 2 3 that means that at wholesale this sack of first grade a ethiopian frankincense is worth about 430 dollars frankincense and myrrh have been burnt as incense for thousands of years and both are deeply ingrained in religious ceremonial burnings in fact it's estimated that the roman catholic church alone still uses an estimated 50 metric tons of frankincense a year frankincense and myrrh were some of the most highly prized commodities in ancient civilizations and became the driving force behind the creation of the incense trade routes a vast network of major land and sea passageways dating back to 300 bc that linked the mediterranean to luxury goods from the south at the height of their use these routes allowed the transport of approximately three thousand tons of incense every year hauled by camels today alongside its medicinal and cosmetic uses frankincense has found a surge in popularity as an essential oil which in its purest form can be sold for as much as six thousand dollars per liter frankincense essential oil alone generated more than 190 million dollars in 2018 and that's expected to exceed 406 million by 2028 but with so much money to be made from damaging a tree the tapping process which should happen only two or three times a year is under threat not only from environmental dangers such as wildfires but also from local untrained tappers it can sometimes take decades for these trees to start producing resin so the sustainability of the species relies on injuring the tree without killing it unfortunately the harvesting process of frankincense is very damaging to the tree so every time people go there and make wounds and then collect the sap that doesn't give enough time to trust for the tree and heal itself so one of our findings is this tree is really under threat the international union for conservation of nature categorised the boswellia sacra species as near threatened over 20 years ago and the lack of over-harvesting laws in some countries means that protecting boswellia trees in such remote areas is virtually impossible experts who surveyed aging boswellia paparifea trees in north africa suggested that most hadn't produced a young tree in half a century m you

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Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, frankincense, myrrh, tree sap, fragrance, africa, trees

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Length: 6min 11sec (371 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 10 2020