01Key Takeaways
- Bhutan's exports totaled $435.63 million in 2023, down 0.5% from $437.88 million in 2022, holding roughly steady after a sharp pandemic-era dip.
- India was overwhelmingly the top buyer, absorbing 77.6% of exports worth $337.93 million, more than five times every other destination combined.
- Bangladesh ranked a distant second at 14.0% ($60.89 million), and the top three destinations together made up 95.8% of total export value.
- Iron and steel led all export categories at 50.9% of total value ($221.68 million), followed closely by salt, stone and cement materials at 32.8%.
024-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $444.1M | $279.9M | $437.9M | $435.6M |
03Top Export Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | $337.9M | 77.6% |
| 2 | Bangladesh | $60.9M | 14.0% |
| 3 | Italy | $18.5M | 4.2% |
| 4 | Nepal | $8.6M | 2.0% |
| 5 | China | $3.6M | 0.8% |
| 6 | Spain | $1.5M | 0.3% |
| 7 | Netherlands | $1.3M | 0.3% |
| 8 | France | $532.3K | 0.1% |
| 9 | Japan | $481.9K | 0.1% |
| 10 | Vietnam | $349.1K | 0.1% |
04Top Export Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iron and Steel | $221.7M | 50.9% |
| 2 | Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement | $142.7M | 32.8% |
| 3 | Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar | $20.6M | 4.7% |
| 4 | Coffee, Tea, Mate and Spices | $16.0M | 3.7% |
| 5 | Edible Fruit and Nuts; Peel of Citrus Fruit or Melons | $8.0M | 1.8% |
| 6 | Inorganic Chemicals; Organic or Inorganic Compounds of Precious Metals, of Rare-Earth Metals, of Radioactive Elements or of Isotopes | $7.8M | 1.8% |
| 7 | Edible Vegetables and certain Roots and Tubers | $5.3M | 1.2% |
| 8 | Preparations of Vegetables, Fruit, Nuts or other parts of Plants | $4.2M | 1.0% |
| 9 | Wood and Articles of Wood; Wood Charcoal | $3.2M | 0.7% |
| 10 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $1.2M | 0.3% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
India Buys Nearly Four in Five of Bhutan's Exports
Bhutan shipped $435.63 million worth of goods abroad in 2023, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That total marks a decline of 0.5% from the $437.88 million recorded in 2022, essentially flat after a much sharper swing earlier in the period covered by this dataset. India absorbed the overwhelming majority of that total, worth $337.93 million, or 77.6% of everything Bhutan exported.
Bangladesh ranked a distant second at 14.0% ($60.89 million), ahead of Italy at 4.2% ($18.47 million) and Nepal at 2.0% ($8.65 million). China took fifth place at 0.8% ($3.60 million), followed by Spain at 0.3% ($1.46 million) and the Netherlands at 0.3% ($1.29 million). France took eighth place at 0.1% ($532,291), Japan added 0.1% ($481,901), and Vietnam rounded out the top ten at 0.1% ($349,111). Together, the top three destinations made up 95.8% of total export value.
That level of concentration reflects a trade relationship that runs deeper than the export figures alone suggest. The Consulate General of India in Phuentsholing notes that India accounts for more than 80% of Bhutan's overall trade, and lists ferro-silicon, cement, and dolomite products among Bhutan's main exports to India, a close match for the categories that dominate the list below. Bangladesh's distant second-place position and Italy's presence in the top three point to smaller but established buyers for Bhutan's mineral and industrial output beyond its immediate neighbor, while Nepal, China, and a handful of European countries round out a list of buyers each taking only a sliver of the total.
Iron, Steel, and Cement Dominate Export Categories
Iron and steel led all export categories in 2023, worth $221.68 million and accounting for 50.9% of total export value. Salt, sulphur, earths, stone, and cement materials followed closely at 32.8% ($142.73 million), and beverages, spirits and vinegar ranked a distant third at 4.7% ($20.63 million).
Coffee, tea, mate and spices added 3.7% ($15.96 million), while fruit and nuts contributed 1.8% ($7.97 million). Inorganic chemicals brought in 1.8% ($7.85 million), and vegetables and edible roots and tubers added 1.2% ($5.26 million). Preparations of vegetables, fruit and nuts contributed 1.0% ($4.17 million), wood and articles of wood added 0.7% ($3.18 million), and plastics and articles thereof closed out the top ten at 0.3% ($1.18 million).
Iron and steel together with salt, stone and cement materials make up the large majority of Bhutan's export value, a pairing that lines up with the country's ferrosilicon, calcium carbide, and cement industries, all built around Bhutan's abundant and inexpensive hydroelectric power. Beverages and agricultural categories such as coffee, tea, spices, and fruit trail well behind but still point to a modest food and drink export base layered on top of the mineral-heavy core. The steep drop-off after the top two categories underscores how narrow Bhutan's export base is by product as well as by destination.
A Four-Year Trend, With a Gap
This dataset has confirmed export figures for four of the last five years, with 2021 not available. Exports fell sharply from $444.14 million in 2019 to $279.94 million in 2020, reflecting the disruption the early global pandemic caused to shipping and demand, before climbing back to $437.88 million in 2022, essentially recovering to pre-pandemic levels. Exports held roughly steady in 2023, easing 0.5% to $435.63 million.
With one year of the five-year window missing, the figures above represent the confirmed data points rather than an unbroken year-over-year trend, though the recovery from 2020's low point to the more recent totals is clear across the years that are available. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.