Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Bhutan was £6 million (M) in the four quarters ending Q2 2024, a increase of 20% (£1M) in current prices compared to the same period ending Q2 2023, according to a report released by the Department of Business and Trade on November 1.
In the four quarters ending Q2 2024, total UK exports to Bhutan amounted to £4M, a decrease of 20% (£1M) in current prices compared to the four quarters ending Q2 2023. Of all UK exports to Bhutan during this period, £1M (25%) was in goods, and £3M (75%) was in services. While UK exports of goods to Bhutan increased by £1M in current prices, exports of services decreased by 40% (£2M), compared to the same period in 2023.
In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024, total UK imports from Bhutan were £2 million (an increase of £2 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023). Of all UK imports from Bhutan in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024, less than £1 million (less than 0.1%) were goods and £2 million (almost 100%) were services.
In the same period, UK imports of goods from Bhutan changed by less than £1 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023 while UK imports of services from Bhutan increased by £2 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023.
This means the UK reported a total trade surplus of £2 million with Bhutan, compared to a trade surplus of £5 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023. In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024, the UK had a trade in goods surplus of £1 million with Bhutan, compared to a trade in goods balance of less than £1 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023.
In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024 the UK reported a trade in services surplus of £1 million with Bhutan, compared to a trade in services surplus of £5 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023.
Meanwhile, Bhutan was the UK’s 209th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024 accounting for less than 0.1% of total UK trade. In 2022, the outward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UK in Bhutan was less than £500,000. In 2022, the inward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UK from Bhutan was less than £500,000.
In 2023, the UK’s market share in Bhutan for goods and services was 0.2%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from 2022. For goods only, the UK’s market share remained at 0.0% in 2023, unchanged from 2022. The UK’s market share in Bhutan for services only was 1.2% in 2023, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points compared to 2022.
Tashi Namgyal from Thimph
