The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Back in October 2022, The Bhutanese featured a promising young entrepreneur, Jangchub Dorji, who had started a startup called Kuen-Gha Potato Fingerling that was selling frozen fries, and in fact, he was the first Bhutanese to do so.
Jangchub’s plan, at the time, was to replace the import of foreign frozen fries through cheaper prices and better quality by sourcing local potatoes.
From May 2021 till the end of the year, Jangchub spent time perfecting the technology, recipe and technique, and he ran his operation from 2022 to 2024 at the start up center in Changzamtog where at its peak, he was supplying up to 50 kgs of fries a day to seven cafes in Thimphu, shops and also to buyers in Paro.
However, Jangchub encountered two problems. The first was that the machine he had initially bought was not big enough to meet the demand, and secondly, he said the Bhutanese potatoes contained higher sugar starch content, and so there were issues with the fries turning brown due to the caramelization of the sugar in the potatoes.
The only solution was to buy a bigger machine with the capacity to process 300 kgs or more fries in a day, and at the same time, reduce the starch content.
He needed around Nu 10 million (mn) for this.
In 2022 and 2023 he tried for the Nu 1 mn grant per project of the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives (DAMC) where he would have to come up with an additional 30% but he could not get the grants.
In 2024 a private business person approached him and offered a partnership. Jangchub said he offered the business person 50% of the company in return for Nu 10 mn to buy the machine. Things were going smoothly until at the last minute, the private business person offered to take over the whole company and keep him as an employee and only issue shares a few years down the line if the company did well. He rejected the offer.
Jangchub said that in 2021 with support from the Department of Cottage and Small Industries, the National Post Harvest Center team from Paro was supposed to give him a two-day training. He claimed the team was quite inexperienced, and instead of learning from them, he landed up showing the team how to do blast freezing and the processing of the fries. Jangchub said he, in fact, helped them come up with the recipe which the center later put up on social media and claimed as its own.
He said he learned that the National Post Harvest Center had procured a big commercial sized machine for the blast freezing of fries’ worth around Nu 8.8 mn and since they were not using it, he approached the Department of Employment and Entrepreneurship (DoEE) under MoICE for help in getting access to the equipment on a cost sharing basis.
The Center is already facing an Audit Memo for buying a lot of equipment and not utilizing it or underutilizing it.
The DoEE Director General on 13th May 2024 wrote to the DAMC saying that Jangchub is an entrepreneur currently incubating at the Changzamtog Startup Center dealing with frozen french fries, and who operates his production at a very small scale because he has been unable to acquire the necessary equipment due to the lack of finance.
The Director General said the potatoes are locally sourced providing a ready market for local farmers, and while the market for Jangchub’s products has expanded substantially, he has been unable to upscale.
The letter said with further support he can expand the supply to 700 kgs in a day of frozen french fries and supply other dzongkhags. It says besides creating employment, it would also lead to import substitution of Nu 100 mn annually and contribute to the country’s socio-economic development.
“As such, the DoEE, would appreciate if your Department could kindly consider providing your support in terms of equipment/machinery that could be put to productive and optimal use by the entrepreneur for his startup fingerling business. Mr. Jangchub Dorji is an extremely promising entrepreneurship and is fully committed to achieving success in his business venture and your timely support would go a long way in fulfilling his success,” says the DG’s letter.
“I did not want it for free completely even though it was not being used, but I was willing to take it on a cost sharing basis,” said Jangchub.
He was not asking for the machine as a special favor as the center was already giving out some machine to some entrepreneurs.
Jangchub said even a month later after the DG’s letter, there was no response from the Center and when he called up to follow up, he said he was greeted in a hostile manner on the phone and asked how did he know about the machine, and it was made plain to him that he would not get the machine.
Unable to scale up or improve the quality further, Jangchub could not sustain on a small margin, and so he soon ran out of funds and had to pause the making of frozen french fries. To make end’s meet he started driving a taxi.
Not willing to give up on his dreams Jangchub applied for a Nu 10 mn loan under the Economic Stimulus Plan (ESP). However, on 23rd July 2025 he received a letter from the Bhutan Development Bank Limited saying his proposal has been declined as his proposal is financially not viable.
Jangchub has written back to the BDBL’s ESP unit on 24th July requesting for a revaluation of his loan proposal which showed viability within the first 18 months, Nu 40 mn in import substitution of frozen fries, 10 direct jobs, 100 indirect farmers jobs and supporting rural livelihoods in 6 dzongkhags.
In the letter, he pointed out that as per the Bhutan Trade Statistics Bhutan imported Nu 40 mn worth of frozen potatoes in 2023. He also said his Detailed Project Report included signed supply agreements with 20 plus retailers and the CSI market ensuring 100% market absorption.
His letter also pointed out that the erratic export market is another reason why there needs to be support for a domestic processing enterprises for value adding to the most abundantly available raw material in the country.
In the middle of all this in April this year Jangchub, out of the blue, was contacted by a Food Corporation of Bhutan Limited (FCBL) official who asked if he was still manufacturing frozen fries. He said he is not as he is waiting for the ESP loan to come through. The FCBL official asked him what type of machines are to be used and the market for the product to which Jangchub replied.
Jangcgub said FCBL in 2025 applied to make frozen fries and sought technical clearance from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MoAL) but the PPD rejected it as there was already a private player in the field and this would hamper the private company.
The DAMC has now approached the FCBL to come up with a frozen fries manufacturing unit and the DAMC is even ready to buy the equipment and give it to FCBL.
Jangchub said he had offered to even do cost sharing basis with DAMC for the machine but the DAMC rejected him, and now the same Department is ready to buy and supply machines to FCBL and is encouraging an SOE to do the same business.
DAMC responds
The DMAC Chief, Sangay Thinley, when contacted about the issue said that he recently asked a DAMC official in their regional office in Phuenthsoling to contact FCBL about post processing of potatoes as frozen fries.
He said a senior FCBL official informed him that the MoAL had rejected a proposal of the FCBL on the issue. The DAMC Chief has asked for the proposal and plans to encourage the FCBL to go for the business and also buy it new machines to do so.
Sangay said that Jangchub is not manufacturing fries, and he would be unable to do cost sharing since he cannot take out that kind of money. Jangchub, though, disagrees and says if he is given a chance he would manage the funds somehow.
The project director at the National Post Harvest Center which falls under DAMC said that the particular equipment was never meant to be given away and the center had been open to Jangchub coming and using the equipment, but not getting it. They said the machine can be used for fries and other products too.
He said after the reporter brought this matter to the notice of the DAMC, the DAMC and the Center have taken a decision to now use the machine to make frozen fries and test the market, and if it is viable then to support entrepreneurs like Jangchub.
On the Audit Memo, the project director said that there had been one but it was due to the fact that the center brought some machines to support some organic groups, but they were disbanded and so they are now being distributed to others.
FCBL responds
The FCBL CEO Dorji Tashi said that the FCBL worried about an uncertain export market for Bhutanese potato farmers had proposed to the former Prime Minister in 2023 to open a frozen fries processing unit so that it can even be supplied to schools in place of rice sometimes.
He said the former PM said it is a good idea but the private sector should take this up and FCBL should provide support.
In 2024 the CEO approached the MoAL with the same idea and he said the ministry liked the idea and at the same time he approached the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment (MoICE) Secretary and the Secretary directed him towards Jangchub.
Jangchub agrees that the FCBL CEO approached him.
The CEO said he told Jangchub that he is willing to supply the raw materials in the form of potatoes and also take Jangchub’s finished product and market and distribute it across Bhutan.
“However, he was not ready with the machinery and he was financially not confident too,” said Dorji.
The CEO said that unlike last year, which was a bumper year, the potato export prices have dropped by almost half this year due to higher production in India and Bangladesh. He said last year in the peak festival season prices went as high as Nu 55 to Nu 60 per kg and this year prices are between Nu 15 to Nu 22.
Potato harvesting in Bhutan starts from end of May or early June and so the exports go on from June till December.
Dorji said the prices this year are even below the normal prices of others years of Nu 25 to Nu 35 per kg.
He said as per the MoAL the average production price for a kg of potatoes for a Bhutanese farmer is Nu 20 and so anything below Nu 20 is a loss for the farmers.
Dorji said the DAMC was worried about this price drop and DAMC felt that somebody should take this up to help the farmers.
On his staff messaging Jangchub the CEO said he comes from an entrepreneurship background himself and always supports them. He said he is still willing to support any private entrepreneur with the offer of raw materials and distribution.
