


Opening high-end markets for Bhutanese handicrafts
EU partners with ITC to offer support in product development and management skills
The handicraft textile industry is an integral part of life and culture in Bhutan, employing about half the country’s workforce. However, if the sector is going to succeed in high-end markets, the design and quality of handicraft textile products require further enhancements to be able to compete in Europe or Japan.
Improved business skills and better understanding of market requirements can help address some of the challenges faced by Bhutanese artisans by learning from the export experiences of neighbouring countries.
As part of the EU-Bhutan Trade Support project funded by the European Union (EU), experts from the International Trade Centre (ITC) have trained 22 artisans through workshops on product development, brand identification, home textile products and export-quality management.