Factors affecting the competitiveness of the agribusiness sector in Swaziland

Abstract

Identifying the factors that influence competitiveness is imperative in order, to appreciate the position of the firm in relation to its environment and to propose appropriate measures and strategies for increasing competitiveness of agribusiness firms. The study sought to determine the competitiveness of the agribusiness sector in Swaziland and to identify the factors affecting competitiveness. Porter’s (1998) theory of the determinants of competitive advantage was applied in the analysis. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The results indicated that the top 3 constraining factors to competitiveness were: the unavailability of professional labour (mean = 1.63); high cost of supplies/inputs (mean = 1.69); incompetence of public sector personnel (mean = 1.69); ineffective public sector personnel (mean = 1.88) and the size of the local market (mean = 1.88). The enhancing factors to competitiveness were: production of affordable high quality products (mean = 4.19); availability of water for industrial purposes (mean = 4.00) and affordable cost of unskilled labour (mean = 3.94). The results further indicate that the agribusiness sector is constrained, suggesting that the environment is not enabling for agribusinesses to be competitive. It is recommended that other markets be explored in order to expand the export base, which could be carried out through product diversification.