Bhutan imported over Nu 30bn worth of goods and services in the first three months of 2023. According to the finance ministry’s Bhutan Trade Statistics report for the first quarter, the import figure is three times that of the country’s export, which stands at about Nu 10bn. The first quarter also saw over Nu 1.5bn worth of electricity imports, while almost three billion worth of ferroalloys were exported during the same period.
After 2022 saw a trade deficit of almost Nu 80bn, the trend of widening gap between imports and exports is expected to continue as the first three months of the year saw Nu 22bn in trade deficit.
The import bill largely consists of high-speed diesel, which accounts for almost Nu 2.5bn of the total imports between January and March.
Among the top 10 imports, petrol worth over Nu 850 M was imported, while over Nu 750 M was spent on importing rice.
Similarly, according to the Bhutan Trade Statistics, almost Nu 650 M worth of smartphones, and Nu 560 M worth of vaccines for humans were imported.
As for exports, the trade statistics show that over Nu 5bn worth of base metals and articles of base metals were exported in the first three months of 2023. Now, these base metals are common non-precious metals used in various industries.
Mineral products made up over Nu 2.5bn of exports, while close to one-billion-ngultrum worth of vegetables were exported.
Additionally, prepared foodstuffs, beverages, vinegar, tobacco, and other consumables of over Nu 450 M were exported between January and March.
With India being Bhutan’s largest trade partner, it is no surprise that of over Nu 30bn of total imports, over Nu 23bn was spent in India. Goods and services worth almost Nu 3bn were imported from Singapore and about Nu 2bn worth of imports from Hong Kong and China combined.
On the other hand, the majority of Bhutan’s exports went to India and Bangladesh in the first three months of this year at about Nu 7bn and over Nu 1bn respectively.
Tashi Yangden
Edited by Sherub Dorji
