Bhutan’s export of agricultural produce slumped drastically last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, besides the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the main reasons was the rise of domestic demand in the country.
Phub Tshering from Paro, like many farmers in the country, failed to reap the benefit from his farm work last year. With the difficulties imposed by the pandemic and also the poor yield of apples from his farm, he didn’t seem too happy.
“Last year I only fetched about Nu 50,000, before I used to earn around Nu 200,000. I sold some in Thimphu but I sent as much as I could to Phuentshogling. And I also stored some in the cold storage facility, some got spoiled in the process. I had to cut down the trees since its production got less last year,” he said.
He said such a poor return after months of hard work is disheartening.
According to the records with the Department of Agricultural Marketing & Cooperatives (DAMC), the country exported 124 metric tonnes of apples last year which was a decrease of more than 90 per cent compared to 2019.
Similarly, potatoes, orange and cardamom also recorded a sharp decline of 45 per cent, 44 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.
“From the supplier’s side there was almost a constant supply and the export got decreased because there was an opportunity to trade inside in the domestic market. So they have exported only those that weren’t consumed in the domestic market, therefore the export went down. Otherwise, there was no interruption in terms of the export facility from the ministry’s side,” said Yonten Gyamtsho, the Chief Marketing Officer at the DAMC under the agriculture ministry.
Some of the major agricultural exports from the country are apple, orange, cardamom and potatoes. The key markets for these products are India and Bangladesh.
“In 2020, we have facilitated the export of all these agriculture commodities despite the pandemic challenges. Although there were some challenges to the exporters, there wasn’t any sort of leftovers that were not exported. We have exported all the goods that were meant for export,” he added.
According to the DAMC, although the ministry provided close facilitation service for the export of all RNR produce, adhering to the COVID-19 protocols might have hindered the exporters. Especially in terms of the time to tranship their goods and the higher labour cost incurred, thereby, increasing the cost of marketing which lead to the decrease in export.
Yeshi Dorji
