Embassy of India

Embassy of India
Thimphu

Press Release: Tie-ups between Bhutanese companies and Indian supermarket chains

1. The Indian Embassy organised a virtual meeting today between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) to establish institutional links between Bhutanese agri-companies and Indian supermarket chains. The meeting was led by Ms. Ruchira Kamboj, the Ambassador of India to Bhutan, and included participation from Mr. Ameet Kumar, Director – South & Central Asia, CII, and Mr. Tandy Wangchuk, President of BCCI.

2. The Bhutanese companies who will exporting their products to India are Bhutan Herbal Tea, Bumthang; Bhutan Herbal Tea, Paro; Chuniding Foods; Crystal Moon Products; Jinlab Agro Products. Their organic food products include preserves (pickles, jams), spices, herbal tea, organic snacks, etc. These products will be exported to Indian importers for onward distribution to Indian supermarket retailers such as Spencer’s Retail and Reliance Retail. This initiative will open up market access for Bhutanese agri-companies in India, which has a niche market for imported organic products.

3. Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj recalled that during the visit of Hon’ble Union Commerce & Industry Minister of India Shri Piyush Goyal to Bhutan in February 2020, he had made a commitment to link Bhutanese agri-producers with Indian supermarket chains. Following this commitment, the Bhutanese side (through the BCCI) has completed the testing of food product samples from the National Food Laboratory, Kolkata of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

4. During the meeting, the stakeholders held detailed discussions on ways to improve the packaging and labeling of the Bhutanese products in order to facilitate their imports into India. Based on requirement, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj suggested that the Bhutanese companies could avail of capacity building opportunities offered by the Government of India for training at the Indian Institute of Packaging.

5. It was decided that a pilot launch of the Bhutanese agri-products would be held at retail stores in India at an early date.

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Thimphu
07 April 2022