Yemen has long been the most famous frankincense and myrrh growing area. In 1000 BCE, roughly the time of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the region was already flourishing because of this trade. Yemen exported not only its own frankincense and myrrh but traded in these resins from Somalia and the Ethiopian/Erithraean highlands too. Until recently, the Southern Yemen port of Aden was the centre of the global trade in both resins. But today, the whole sector is facing collapse.
This English-language report of TRT world (international Turkish broadcaster): “Somali workers keep Yemen’s frankincense trade alive, but at what cost?” sums up the threats facing this ancient industry:
- Low incomes and hardship, compared to opportunities of earning more and living more comfortably in urban areas, cause local communities to abandon production
- Natural disasters uprooting trees or flooding (these are exacerbated by climate change)
- Excessive grazing by ruminants, killing the young saplings and preventing forest regeneration
- Overtapping by Somali migrants who seek to increase their meagre profits
Yemen was long a major destination for Somali refugees who fled the civil war and ensuing chaos and poverty. Most used it as a transit point but some stayed, such as these migrants that harvest local trees for their income.
They probably strike a deal with the owners of the trees, reverting some of their income in exchange. But since they do not own the trees, the incentive to keep them alive by tapping the resin carefully and in moderate amounts is lacking.
The low prices paid by local traders (just a little more than 2$/kg), and the low prices these traders sell their resins for to other traders, explain why the sector is collapsing. As long as the big buyers in the world are only intent on driving down prices for the raw materials that they sell on as gold, we cannot expect the trade to become more sustainable.
The adjacent clip, provided by Beeyo Maal from Somaliland, shows how difficult it is to tap frankincense trees. This grove is many hours distant from the nearest village, but it is still one of the easiest places for the harvesters to bring a cameraman along to. Conditions in Yemen are largely similar
