Assessing export competitiveness of food manufacturers in SIDS

Purpose For Small Island Developing States (SIDS), achieving export manufacturing competitiveness is a major challenge. This paper aims to provide a framework that can be used to study the export competitiveness for food manufacturers. Design/methodology/approach The revealed comparative export advantage (RXA) and the constant market share (CMS) measures are used in a case study set in the Trinidad and Tobago’s food and beverage sector to study export manufacturing competitiveness. Findings When using the RXA and CMS measures to assess the current state of export manufacturing competitiveness in SIDS, specific product groupings should be used in the analysis to obtain a more accurate assessment of competitiveness than that provided when using aggregate commodity groups. Furthermore, the export market section of the conceptual framework provides a structured approach towards studying the distribution effect element of the CMS analysis. Research limitations/implications Trade data are heavily used, which is subject to a number of well-documented limitations. In addition, there is no mandatory registration for companies operating in the case country, which results in under-reporting of industrial activity, and so limits the use of the framework in studying the exporting companies and the export products. Finally, a single case study limits the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications In particular, policymakers responsible for designing interventions for increasing export manufacturing competitiveness can use the framework to consider specific strategies as they relate to the exporting companies, the export products and the export markets. Originality/value This paper brings together three basic elements that contribute to export manufacturing competitiveness in the form of the conceptual framework.