Measuring Inter-Industry Competitive Advantage and Performance of Lesotho’s Export Sector
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26710/reads.v2i1.131Keywords:
Comparative advantage, export performance, industrial export performanceAbstract
The author investigated inter-industry competitive advantage and
performance of Lesotho’s export sector. The results show competitiveness
in Lesotho varies from one industry to the other. Textiles industry is the
most competitive in Lesotho with 165 product lines which has revealed
comparative advantage of equal or greater than 1. It is followed by
miscellaneous industry with a demonstrated competitiveness in 35 product
lines. The least competitive industries in Lesotho were found to be foot
wear/head gear and wood and wood products both with only 4 product lines.
The following industries in Lesotho performed badly and have no
comparative advantage at all: animal and animal products; raw hides, skins
leather and furs; plastic and rubber; chemical and allied industries; food
stuffs; and mineral products. Although Lesotho has competitive advantage
in textiles industry, it is also very vulnerable due to over-reliance on a single
industry. There is a need to diversify through attracting foreign direct
investment that will also usher in improvement in competitiveness across
industries.
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