The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Business owners who rely on the Bhutan Post Office for imports are raising concerns about delayed shipments that have yet to arrive more than a month after ordering.
They report that the delays are disrupting their operations and sales potential.
In response, the Bhutan Post Office explained that they have a signed contract with Druk Air regarding the cargo, and the delivery schedules rely on the airline.
Druk Air said, “Due to the increase in the number of passengers and proportionate increase in baggage, we don’t have space for cargo at the moment. We are prioritizing and trying to bring in the backlog cargo as much as possible.”
“I am the owner of a garment shop, and for this nature of business to keep running, I need to keep up with the trends in the market. I ordered winter clothes in November from Japan and it still hasn’t arrived” said Phuntsho Om, a shop owner in Bumthang.
She said that during other times of the year, her parcel arrives in a week and if it prolongs it only takes around 8 days to arrive.
The money flow in her business has been blocked, and she expressed her concerns that the winter clothing might arrive in the summer time. She had ordered around Nu 200,000 worth of garments from Japan via the Bhutan Post.
“I asked and followed up with the Japan post, thinking that they sent the cargo late, but they always send the packages right after they receive it and did not have any problem” said Phuntsho.
Other business owners also shared the same sentiment.
A business owner in Thimphu said that her parcels take time to arrive this time of the year, ultimately halting her business as well.
She said that she was lucky because her business was not the single source of income, but there are others who depend on their business and if their stock also gets stuck, they will have a big problem.
There is a confusion among the people who are waiting for their parcels to arrive not knowing where to call and what to do to speed up the arrival of their parcels, and they are hoping that either the Bhutan Post or Druk Air will come up with an arrangement soon so that they do not function on losses.
Some business people feel it is time that there should be cargo flights in Bhutan to avoid such issues.
