To improve the trade relations between India and Nepal, India has allowed the market access for 5 Bhutanese agricultural products. Bhutan Areca nuts, Mandarin Oranges, Apples, Potatoes and Ginger can reach large Indian Market immediately. The decision got its input in Febraury this year during the visit of Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal. Indian diplomateto Bhutan Ruchira Kamboj called the development, "a key commitment to grow our bilateral trade".
India's Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare notification issued on 14th October and published in the Gazette of India on 16 October 2020, notifies five agri-products originating from Bhutan in the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003. Bhutan's Ministry of Agriculture & Forests has allowed import of Tomato, Onion, and Okra from India under the Plant Quarantine Rules and Regulations of Bhutan, 2018. The decision was made after the talks between India's National Plant Protection Organization and Bhutan's Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) and the Embassy of India, Thimphu. Till date, asparagus and cardamom were listed in the Plant Quarantine Order of India.
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India is setting up a Plant Quarantine (PQ) centre at Jaigaon, a key route between the two countries which facilitate easy clearance by PQ officer for agri-exports to India. The total bilateral trade between the two countries stood at Rs. 9227.7 crores for the year 2018. Main exports from India to Bhutan are mineral products, machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical equipment, plastics and articles and the main imports from Bhutan are electricity, ferro-silicon, portland cement, dolomite etc.
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