Oman Vision 2040 is a bold mandate for transformation — a call to diversify the economy, empower the private sector and cultivate new industries built on our distinctive strengths. Among these, none shine brighter or smell sweeter than frankincense — lubān — Oman’s timeless ‘white gold’.
Harvested for millennia from the Boswellia sacra trees of Dhofar, Omani frankincense has perfumed temples, palaces and trade routes since antiquity. It is more than a resin; it is the soul of Oman, enshrined by Unesco and revered along the ancient Frankincense Trail.
Yet today, this proud legacy stands at a crossroads. The story of Omani frankincense is world-renowned — but its economic promise remains largely unrealised. We continue to export raw resin while the true wealth — perfumes, cosmetics and wellness products — is captured abroad. For Oman’s diversification vision to succeed, we must move from trading our past to manufacturing our future.
The global fragrance industry is booming — valued at over $56 billion in 2024 and projected to surpass $74 billion by 2030. The GCC alone will represent $4.2 billion by 2025 — a market deeply rooted in the region’s culture of scent and luxury. Yet Oman’s participation remains limited. Our exports of finished perfumes and toilet waters are modest, while imports, particularly from the UAE, remain significant. This imbalance is not merely a trade statistic — it reflects lost value and untapped potential.
Despite enjoying duty-free access to the world’s largest premium market through the US–Oman Free Trade Agreement, our perfume exports to the United States remain minimal compared to our neighbouring countries. Clearly, the challenge is not market access, but the absence of scalable, export-ready Omani products and brands.
Oman is not starting from zero. We possess what could be called our Olfactive Trinity — Dhofar’s frankincense, Al Jabal Al Akhdhar’s roses and the native myrrh of our deserts. Each embodies authenticity and natural luxury, the very qualities driving global consumer demand. We also have Amouage, Oman’s flagship perfume house, now a global brand with estimated annual sales exceeding $210 million. Amouage stands as proof that an Omani brand can compete — and win — at the top of the luxury market. But an ecosystem cannot thrive on a single success story. Beyond Amouage, our national brand landscape remains thin, with few mid-tier or artisanal Omani perfume labels able to scale internationally.
Our biggest gap lies in the midstream — the industrial backbone that sustains a manufacturing economy. Oman does not yet produce high-quality perfume bottles, pumps, or decorative caps. We depend on imports, raising costs and limiting innovation. For small and medium-sized Omani perfume houses, barriers remain high: establishing GMP-compliant facilities, securing international certifications and sourcing components. Globally, consumers are gravitating towards niche, authentic and sustainable fragrances — the very strengths Oman possesses. What we need is an ecosystem that empowers our SMEs to compete, not constrains them.
Fortunately, Oman’s policy framework is evolving in the right direction. Our world-class ports and free zones in Suhar, Salalah and Al Duqm provide ideal platforms for export-oriented industries. The new Unified Law for Special Economic and Free Zones offers streamlined incentives and tax holidays that could anchor a manufacturing hub. Yet one barrier persists: ambiguity in our Foreign Capital Investment Law, which currently restricts foreign investment in “traditional handmade cosmetics”. This rule must be clarified — to safeguard local artisans, yes, but also to welcome strategic joint ventures in packaging, component manufacturing and raw material processing. Without such partnerships, our value chain will remain incomplete.
Our ambition should be nothing less than the creation of an Oman Fragrance Valley — a national ecosystem linking heritage, sustainability, innovation and global trade. Picture Dhofar’s sacred frankincense trees, harvested sustainably as our ancestors once did, their resin transformed in state-of-the-art extraction labs. Imagine local entrepreneurs crafting perfumes in modern facilities, packaged in Omani-made glass and sold to the world with the proud label “Made in Oman”. This vision could also anchor a Scented Tourism experience — inviting visitors to trace the journey of Oman’s white gold from ancient groves to contemporary luxury.
To turn vision into value, we must focus on concrete steps. First, we should launch a National Mark of Authenticity by registering “Omani Frankincense” as a Geographical Indication (GI). This would serve as a White Gold Standard — protecting our heritage, ensuring product integrity and securing a global premium price. Second, we should create a Plug-and-Play Perfumery Hub — a shared manufacturing facility where Omani SMEs can access GMP-certified labs and production lines at low cost. Third, a House of Omani Scent Incubator should be established to nurture young perfumers, offering seed funding, mentorship and export support. Finally, we must attract joint ventures for high-quality glass and packaging manufacturing — the single most transformative step to anchor the entire sector.
Oman’s advantage is unique: authenticity, natural wealth and strategic geography. Our ancestors built global trade routes on lubān — the incense that connected Arabia, Africa and Asia. Oman Vision 2040 calls on us to revive that spirit — not by exporting resin, but by owning the entire fragrance value chain, from tree to bottle, from heritage to high-tech. The world already knows the scent of Oman. It is time they know the brand.
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