Economics and Agribusiness in the Kingdom of Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country located in the Himalayan mountain range and the only remaining Buddhist kingdom in the world. Even though the country bordered British India for several decades and was heavily influenced by its politics, it was never colonized by the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, throughout the 20th century, Bhutan delegated the management of its foreign relations to a neighboring power, originally the British and subsequently to India. Currently, the country is a constitutional monarchy and its national government still coordinates its international politics closely with India. Bhutan has a total territory of almost 38.400 square kilometers, which is somewhat larger than the state of Maryland. Mountains as well as fertile valleys and savannahs dominate the country. Likewise, Bhutan has a small total population of little over 775.000 citizens, about 39% of which live in an urban setting. Naturally, the country is largely rural and its capital city of Thimphu only has approximately 150.000 inhabitants. The national annual gross domestic product (GDP) of Bhutan is US$6 billion (PPP) and it has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 3.5% in recent years. The Bhutanese economy is divided into 17% agriculture, 42% manufacturing, and 41% services. Similarly, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 58% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 20% and services employ another 22%. Meanwhile, the agriculture industry utilizes 14% of the national territory, while another 85% is forested.
Economics and Agribusiness in the Kingdom of Bhutan
In terms of natural resources, Bhutan has timber, hydropower, gypsum, and calcium carbonate. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on cement, wood products, processed fruits, and alcoholic beverages. Likewise, an important sector of the economy is devoted to the tourism industry. Simultaneously, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products rice, corn, root crops, citrus, dairy products, and eggs. During 2015, Bhutan imported US$465 million worth of goods and exported US$214 million, resulting in a trade deficit of US$251 million. Furthermore, that same year, Bhutan’s main export, representing 50% or US$107 million of the country’s total, were ferroalloys. Similarly, the country’s main import, representing 16% or US$72 million of all international purchases, was refined petroleum. In terms of trade, Bhutan’s main partners are India and the European Union.
Land distribution and output in Bhutan have also evolved throughout the last half century. Back in 1961, permanent pastures and meadows in the country covered almost 250.000 hectares, while arable land represented 100.000 hectares and permanent crops accounted for 13.000 hectares. More recently, by 2014, permanent pastures and meadows accounted for 413.000 hectares, while arable land represented little over 100.000 hectares and permanent crops covered some 12.400 hectares. Likewise, in 1961, the cereals market in Bhutan utilized 68.300 hectares of land and yielded little over 98.400 metric tons annually. Finally, in 2014, the country devoted more than 53.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded almost 167.000 metric tons.
(Read more about Exotic and Tropical Fruit Trade and Markets)