That estimated dollar amount reflects a 25.2% advance compared to $318.7 million five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, Bhutan’s exports appreciated by 7.8% compared to $370.1 million during 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2021, the Bhutan ngultrum depreciated by -14.9% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -6.3% from 2021 to 2022. Bhutan’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Bhutan is a landlocked South Asian country located in the Eastern Himalayas in close proximity to economic powerhouses China and India.
Bhutan’s tree largest exports by value are predominantly iron ferroalloys, dolomite, and gypsum or related plasters. Collectively, that trio of leading products represents almost four-fifths (79.4%) of the overall value of exported products from Bhutan.
Bhutan’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data from 2012 shows that 99.9% of products exported from Bhutan were bought by importers in: India (93.7% of the global total), Bangladesh (4.1%), Italy (0.4%), Japan (0.4%), Nepal (also 0.4%), Hong Kong (0.3%), Netherlands (0.2%), Germany (0.1%), Singapore (0.1%), Bulgaria (0.1%), Luxembourg (also 0.1%) and United States (0.04%).
Given Bhutan’s population of 753,000 people, its total $399 million in 2022 exports translates to roughly $520 for every resident in the landlocked Asian nation. That dollar metric exceeds the average $490 per capita one year earlier during 2021.
Bhutan’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Bhutanese global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Bhutan.
- Iron, steel: US$263.3 million (66% of total exports)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $81.7 million (20.5%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $9.6 million (2.4%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $8.7 million (2.2%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $8 million (2%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $7.5 million (1.9%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $3.7 million (0.9%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $3.3 million (0.8%)
- Wood: $2.7 million (0.7%)
- Machinery including computers: $2.5 million (0.6%)
Bhutan’s top 10 exports accounted for 98% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Pharmaceuticals represent the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 82,689% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was mineral fuels-related goods via a 157 advance, led by higher exports of electrical energy.
Bhutan’s shipments of inorganic chemicals posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 39%.
The leading decliner among Bhutan’s top 10 export categories was the aircraft and spacecraft product group, pulled down by a -78.5% year-over-year reduction.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, iron ferroalloys are Bhutan’s most valuable exported product accounting for 63.5% of the country’s total. In second place was dolomite (11.7%) trailed by Bhutan’s exports of gypsum or anhydrite plasters (4.2%), hydraulic cements (3.8%), electrical energy (2.4%), blood fractions (1.9%), semi-finished iron or non-alloy steel products (1.7%), carbides (1.6%), non-alcoholic beverages excluding water, juice and milk (1.3%), then aircraft and spacecraft parts (0.9%).
Products Generating Bhutan’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Bhutanese product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Iron, steel: US$188.1 million (Down by -6.5% since 2021)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $71.3 million (Up by 8.2%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $6.3 million (Up by 37.7%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $2.6 million (Down by -81.3%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $2.4 million (Reversing a -$4 million deficit)
- Gums, resins, other vegetable saps: $256,000 (Reversing a -$21,000 deficit)
- Woodpulp: $10,000 (Reversing a -$7,000 deficit)
- Furskins, artificial fur: $1,000 (2021 data unavailable)
Bhutan has highly positive net exports in the international trade of iron and steel. In turn, these cashflows indicate Bhutan’s strong competitive advantages under the iron and steel product category.
Products Causing Bhutan’s Worst Trade Deficits
Bhutan incurred an overall -US$956.9 million product trade deficit for 2022, expanding by 26.3% from -$757.6 million in red ink one year earlier for 2021.
Below are exports from Bhutan that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Bhutan’s goods trail Bhutanese importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$222.9 million (Up by 17.4% since 2021)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$209.4 million (Up by 31.4%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$192 million (Up by 83.4%)
- Vehicles: -$66.1 million (Down by -12.7%)
- Wood: -$50.9 million (Up by 34.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$35.3 million (Up by 19.8%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$32.8 million (Up by 25.4%)
- Cereals: -$32.3 million (Up by 12.5%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$25.7 million (Down by -1.2%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: -$21 million (Up by 5.6%)
Bhutan has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for machinery including computers, and mineral fuels-related goods–particularly refined petroleum oils and coal including coal coke or semi-coke.
Bhutanese Export Companies
Not one Bhutanese corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000 largest companies on the planet.
According to Alibaba.com listings, the following companies are examples of companies located in Bhutan. Within parentheses are products exported from the Eastern Himalayan country.
- Bhutan Exporting Co. (scarves, other clothing)
- Colorful Bhutan (supplements)
- DoriLtd (wood pellets)
- The Himalaya Enterprise (pure honey)
Wikipedia also lists businesses with exposure to international trade operating out of Bhutan. Selected examples are shown below.
- Bhutan Airlines (airliner)
- Bhutan Postal Corp (delivery services)
- Mountain Hazelnuts Group (food products)
- Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (central bank)
- Tashi Group (conglomerate)
In macroeconomic terms, Bhutan’s total exported goods represent 4% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($10 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 4.2% for 2021. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Bhutan’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Bhutan’s unemployment rate averaged 5.9% for 2022, up from an average 4.8% jobless rate in 2021 based on statistics from the International Monetary Fund.
Bhutan’s capital city is Thimphu.
See also Top Asian Export Countries, India’s Top 10 Exports, India’s Top Trading Partners and Bangladesh’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook South Asia: Bhutan. Accessed on October 4, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 4, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 4, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 4, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 4, 2023
United States Census Bureau, Foreign Trade . Accessed on October 4, 2023
Wikipedia, Bhutan. Accessed on October 4, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 4, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Bhutan. Accessed on October 4, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 4, 2023
WorldsCapitalCities.com, Capital Facts for Thimphu, Bhutan. Accessed on October 4, 2023