Historic drought threatens Ethiopia's myrrh trees and rural incomes
Historic drought in Ethiopia's Somali region is undermining myrrh harvesting, squeezing village incomes and raising new questions about the resilience of a high-value resin supply chain.
A historic drought in Ethiopia's Somali region is putting heavy pressure on myrrh trees, the resin source behind one of the best known fragrance ingredients in global perfumery. The Associated Press reports that the trees are being hit by a combination of water stress and grazing pressure, with hungry livestock eating buds and young plants. For local households, that means the climate shock is directly undermining one of the few cash-generating activities available in an already fragile landscape.
Researchers supported by the American Herbal Products Association visited the area earlier in 2026 to examine the supply chain and look for ways to connect harvesters more directly with buyers. At the moment, people collecting myrrh receive as little as 3.50 dollars and as much as 10 dollars per kilogram, while perfumes using the same ingredient can sell for as much as 500 dollars a bottle under major international labels. That pricing gap underlines how little value currently stays with the communities doing the harvesting work.
The team included University of Vermont resin supply chain specialist Anjanette DeCarlo and resin expert Stephen Johnson of FairSource Botanicals. They found that local communities still use traditional harvesting methods, collecting resin from naturally occurring wounds rather than making new cuts in the bark. According to the researchers, that practice helps protect the trees from pests and disease while also preserving the quality of the resin, making it an important part of long-term resource management.
Even so, the climate trend is eroding the system's resilience. Seasonal rains have failed repeatedly over recent years, and the area was also hit by destructive flooding in 2023. Adult trees are still largely alive, but they are producing less resin, while far fewer seedlings are surviving. Local elder Mohamed Osman Miyir said many seedlings are uprooted by children grazing livestock nearby, and the animals often eat the buds of the remaining young trees, adding another layer of pressure to natural regeneration.
The social consequences are severe. Villagers spend much of their time hauling water for themselves and their animals, while herders travel as far as 200 kilometers to Sanqotor village, where one rare well still has water. Local headman Ali Mohamed said animals are watered before villagers. For the poorest residents, the problem is even sharper because they do not have livestock to fall back on and depend almost entirely on tree resin such as myrrh for survival.
The article also highlights a weak point in the trade structure. Most myrrh from this part of eastern Ethiopia is currently bought by traders from neighboring Somalia, and Ethiopia does not collect taxes on those goods. Local researchers hope that better visibility and more direct market access could improve prices and make livelihoods more sustainable. But without better rainfall and stronger protection for young trees, researchers warned that even the adult myrrh stands could eventually begin to die off.