01Key Takeaways
- Bhutan's imports totaled $1.29 billion in 2023, down 17.8% from $1.57 billion in 2022, the sharpest pullback among the years confirmed in this dataset.
- India was overwhelmingly the top supplier, providing 79.9% of imports worth $1.03 billion, more than twelve times every other supplier combined.
- China ranked a distant second at 6.5% ($83.32 million), and the top three suppliers together made up 91.5% of total import value.
- Mineral fuels and mineral oils led all import categories at 18.5% of total value ($238.83 million), ahead of machinery and mechanical appliances at 12.1%.
024-Year Trend
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $979.3M | $891.7M | $1.6B | $1.3B |
03Top Import Markets (2023)
| Rank | Partner | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | $1.0B | 79.9% |
| 2 | China | $83.3M | 6.5% |
| 3 | Singapore | $66.7M | 5.2% |
| 4 | Thailand | $21.4M | 1.7% |
| 5 | Hong Kong SAR China | $19.4M | 1.5% |
| 6 | Bangladesh | $9.7M | 0.7% |
| 7 | Sweden | $6.4M | 0.5% |
| 8 | Nepal | $5.6M | 0.4% |
| 9 | Germany | $5.1M | 0.4% |
| 10 | South Africa | $4.0M | 0.3% |
04Top Import Categories (2023)
| Rank | Category | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Fuels, Mineral Oils and Products of their Distillation; Bituminous Substances; Mineral Waxes | $238.8M | 18.5% |
| 2 | Nuclear Reactors, Boilers, Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Parts thereof | $155.6M | 12.1% |
| 3 | Electrical Machinery and Equipment and parts thereof; Sound Recorders and Reproducers, Television Image and Sound Recorders and Reproducers, and Parts and Accessories of such Articles | $143.4M | 11.1% |
| 4 | Iron and Steel | $85.5M | 6.6% |
| 5 | Cereals | $49.1M | 3.8% |
| 6 | Wood and Articles of Wood; Wood Charcoal | $43.0M | 3.3% |
| 7 | Plastics and Articles thereof | $41.3M | 3.2% |
| 8 | Articles of Iron or Steel | $38.5M | 3.0% |
| 9 | Printed Books, Newspapers, Pictures and other Products of the Printing Industry; Manuscripts, Typescripts and Plans | $28.6M | 2.2% |
| 10 | Dairy Produce; Birds' Eggs; Natural Honey; Edible Products of Animal Origin, not elsewhere specified or included | $27.2M | 2.1% |
05Trade Partner Map
06Analysis
India Supplies Four in Five of Bhutan's Imports
Bhutan imported $1.29 billion worth of goods in 2023, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That total marks a decline of 17.8% from the $1.57 billion recorded in 2022, the sharpest year-over-year pullback among the years confirmed in this dataset. India supplied the overwhelming majority of that total, worth $1.03 billion, or 79.9% of everything Bhutan imported.
China ranked a distant second at 6.5% ($83.32 million), ahead of Singapore at 5.2% ($66.75 million) and Thailand at 1.7% ($21.39 million). Hong Kong SAR China took fifth place at 1.5% ($19.41 million), followed by Bangladesh at 0.7% ($9.66 million) and Sweden at 0.5% ($6.37 million). Nepal took eighth place at 0.4% ($5.58 million), Germany added 0.4% ($5.09 million), and South Africa rounded out the top ten at 0.3% ($3.97 million). Together, the top three suppliers made up 91.5% of total import value.
That concentration is even more extreme than what shows up on Bhutan's export side, and it points to a lopsided trade relationship with its southern neighbor. The Consulate General of India in Phuentsholing notes that the bilateral trade balance consistently favors India, with a surplus in the hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years, a pattern consistent with India supplying nearly four-fifths of Bhutan's total imports while absorbing a smaller share of its exports by comparison. China and Singapore's distant second and third-place positions likely reflect manufactured goods, electronics, and re-exported consumer products routed through regional trading hubs, while Thailand, Hong Kong, and a scattering of smaller suppliers round out a list where nothing outside the top three comes close to matching India's scale.
Fuel and Machinery Lead Bhutan's Import Basket
Mineral fuels, mineral oils and related distillation products led all import categories in 2023, worth $238.83 million and accounting for 18.5% of total import value. Machinery and mechanical appliances, boilers and nuclear reactors followed at 12.1% ($155.55 million), and electrical machinery and equipment ranked third at 11.1% ($143.43 million).
Iron and steel added 6.6% ($85.51 million), while cereals contributed 3.8% ($49.10 million). Wood and articles of wood brought in 3.3% ($42.99 million), and plastics and articles thereof added 3.2% ($41.26 million). Iron or steel articles contributed 3.0% ($38.51 million), printed books, newspapers and related products added 2.2% ($28.62 million), and dairy produce, eggs and natural honey closed out the top ten at 2.1% ($27.16 million).
Fuel's leading position is consistent with Bhutan having no domestic oil refining or production, meaning all the petroleum products used for transport and power generation have to be brought in, mostly from India given the scale of that relationship. Machinery and electrical equipment close behind point to ongoing investment in hydropower and infrastructure projects, the same sector that drives much of what Bhutan exports in finished form. Iron and steel's appearance as both a leading import and export category reflects a supply chain where raw and intermediate steel products are brought in before being processed into ferrosilicon and other finished goods for shipment back out, mostly to India. Cereals, dairy, and other food categories further down the list point to a country that imports a meaningful share of its staple food supply, consistent with Bhutan's mountainous terrain limiting large-scale agricultural production.
A Sharp Pullback After a Peak Year
This dataset has confirmed import figures for four of the last five years, with 2021 not available. Imports fell from $979.33 million in 2019 to $891.73 million in 2020, likely reflecting disrupted shipping and softer demand during the early stages of the global pandemic, then jumped to $1.57 billion in 2022, the highest total in the period. Imports pulled back sharply in 2023, down 17.8% to $1.29 billion.
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 scale of the swing between 2022's peak and 2023's pullback stands out even among 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.