Competitive Performance of the Ethiopian Flower Industry from a Pre-to Post COVID-19 Pandemic Era (2003- 2022): A Comparative Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the competitive performance of the Ethiopian flower industry in the world market from the pre-to post COVID-19 pandemic era in comparison with the Netherlands, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Italy, China, Malaysia, Israel, and Canada. The study collected secondary data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) database for the years between 2003 and 2022. The data collected was analyzed by NRCA (Normalized Revealed Comparative Advantage) and RTA (Relative Trade Advantage) indexes as a measure of competitive performance as well as using both descriptive and inferential statistical analysis tools: mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, Pearson's correlation test, and paired sample t-test. The findings show that Ethiopia, as well as the Netherlands, Colombia, Ecuador, and Kenya, have a strong competitive advantage in the flower industry in the pre-to post COVID-19 pandemic era (2003-2022), with relatively consistent competitive performance trend in the world market; while other countries with fluctuating competitive advantage and self-balancing (Israel, Malaysia, and China) and also countries such as Italy and Canada have a competitive disadvantage in flower in the world market. Ethiopia's flower competitive advantage has achieved a steady improvement in the post COVID-19 pandemic era while other countries are facing inconsistent and huge decline, particularly, Colombia, as the finding revealed. Also, paired sample t-test result shows that statistically significant difference was found between Ethiopia's competitive advantage and those of the top competing countries with a p-value < .05. The finding also indicated that with average values of the relative import advantage (RMA = .48) and relative trade advantage (RTA = 128.80) indexes, Ethiopia is a net exporter of flowers. Therefore, the findings of this study give managers robust evidence of how their flower industry's competitive performance changes over time and the rank of their respective country. The flower competitive performance of Ethiopia, compared to the Netherlands, Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya, Italy, China, Malaysia, Israel, and Canada, is believed to inform the practitioners in the industry to make necessary adjustments aimed at generating comparative and competitive advantages for the country.