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Bhutan Commerce
Commercial services were projected to generate 7.4
percent of
GDP in 1991. Much of Bhutan's commerce revolved around
touristoriented hotels and restaurants, and wholesale and retail
trade
made up the balance. The Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and
Industry
served as a formal conduit between government and
private-sector
businesses. The chamber was established with government
sanction
and leadership in 1980, but it made a slow start. In 1984
the first
meeting was held between chamber members and heads of
government
departments, and the Trade Information Centre was
established as a
unit of the Department of Trade and Commerce to provide
trade and
commercial information to both the public and private
sectors.
Despite these initiatives, the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce
and
Industry had to be reorganized in 1987; the intent was
that the
chamber would play a "vital role" in coordinating
activities in the
government and private sectors and promoting socioeconomic
development. The Druk Gyalpo himself criticized the
chamber in 1988
for its "extremely poor and disappointing performance" and
urged it
to take on a greater role in national development and to
help build
a strong and dynamic economy. Despite these initiatives,
the Bhutan
Chamber of Commerce and Industry had only forty members in
1989.
Data as of September 1991
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