Kolkata: The bilateral trade between India and Bhutan is set to grow by about ten per cent during the current fiscal, according to Mr Dasho Tshring Wangda, Consul General of Bhutan Consulate in Kolkata.

The trade between the two countries has been growing at five-to-seven per cent on a year-on-year basis and was at about Rs 2,000 crore in 2009-10, he told newspersons on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the issuance of travel permit to Indian citizens by the Consulate in Kolkata.

“There has been a good increase in the bilateral trade between the two countries. Close to 95 per cent of our food items are imported from India,” Mr Wangda said.

The major items of import from India were food items, clothing, construction material and petroleum products among others, while power was the single largest item of export from Bhutan to India, he added.

The issuance of travel permits by the Consulate in Kolkata will facilitate Indian citizens to travel at ease without having to process travel documents at Paro International Airport and the border towns of Bhutan, he said.

“The number of Indian tourists coming to Bhutan has been growing at about ten per cent on a year-on-year basis,” he said.