My economics professor argued that the goal of exports is to enable imports. This is true, as we import experiences and goods that we cannot produce locally. The goal of exporting is to afford imports like cars, buldak ramen, and fashionable clothes. However, I believe trade barriers that constrain the local economy can help develop domestic solutions.

What strikes me when walking around at home is the ingenious solutions we’ve engineered to compensate for being a small, poor nation that companies often overlook. Think iDesire, the local version of an official Apple store - but that’s not even the best example. The most applicable examples are our localized variations of fast food chains, especially in the capital city. CFC for KFC, Good Vibes for McDonald’s, and Burger Point for Shake Shack. Being small and poor means we’re frequently ignored, but it also means vast opportunities exist. We can take proven concepts from elsewhere and adapt them locally, though they must be localized.

You can clearly see how imports or lack of constraints hinder growth by visiting any store and observing the noodles section. Among a sea of Korean and Indian brands, there is only one mediocre Bhutanese option. How can we improve when we massively import buldak, giving local goods no chance? These multinational companies had years to refine their technology and recipes before entering our markets. How can our producers compete? The importers seem to be small family businesses employing 5-10 people at most. Imagine if we had our own buldak, or if Happy Chips tasted as good as Lay’s. On that note, I really like Krum Krum.