The Competitiveness of Ethiopian Honey in the European Union and the United Kingdom.

In spite of efforts made by the government, to help the private sector, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in Africa. The agri-food sector provides 75% of jobs in Ethiopia (United States Agency for International Development, 2023). However, most agriculture products are sold unprocessed and undifferentiated. Ethiopia is regarded as a country of high potential for honey and beeswax production. Ethiopian honey production is estimated at 45,000 tonnes, however, the country is only exporting 800 tonnes (Alemu & Adesina, 2015). Some of the most promising destinations for Ethiopian honey exports include the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK). Within this context, this paper aims to critically analyse the competitiveness of the Ethiopian honey value chain in order to identify its challenges and opportunities within the EU and UK market. This study uses a qualitative research approach. Primary data were collected from stakeholders of the Ethiopian honey value chain. The results of this study indicate that Ethiopian honey could be competitive in the specialty and organic niche market. Findings have revealed that the Ethiopian honey value chain needs improvement in terms of quality, food safety, market information management and cooperation among stakeholders. The findings of this research make a contribution to the existing literature by extending current knowledge within this domain and identifying strategies to penetrate a very competitive sector

Can Bio-labels help Companies to Gain Competitive Advantage in the Organic Food Market in Germany?

Consumers’ attitudes towards food underwent large changes in Germany. This has resulted in an increase of demand for organic food. However, some analysts claim that the organic food market in Germany might be maturing. Within this context, this paper has two main objectives: first, to explore the attitude of German consumers towards organic food and bio-labels; and second to identify potential areas for improvement to help organic food companies to become more competitive. This study used a quantitative research approach. 627 German consumers completed the survey. The results of this study indicate that there is potential for the organic food market to carry on growing. Findings have also revealed that a large percentage of participants do not trust some bio-labels. Trust and brand recognition are the most important factors that have helped Bioland and Demeter to develop a competitive advantage against other labels

The competitiveness of the Uruguayan rural tourism sector and its potential to attract German tourists

The purpose of this paper is to assess the competitiveness of the Uruguayan rural tourism sector against its main competitors from Argentina and Brazil, as perceived by Uruguayan stakeholders on the supply side. The paper will also evaluate the potential of Uruguay as a rural tourism destination in attracting German tourists. Design/methodology/approach – Two different questionnaires were administered, one to Uruguayan rural tourism stakeholders and another one to potential German tourists in Germany. Findings – The findings indicate that the main strengths of Uruguayan rural tourism offer, compared to Argentina and Brazil, are the hospitality and friendliness of local people, the natural and cultural attractions and the country’s security and safety. Main weaknesses identified were the poor management of several destination components that are key to create a successful tourism destination and poor management of the “demand conditions” component of Dwyer and Kim’s (2003) integrated model. Originality/value – There is very limited research done on the competitiveness of Uruguay as a rural tourist destination in attracting foreign tourists (Mackinnon et al., 2009). The objective of this study is to partially fill this gap by assessing how competitive Uruguayan rural tourism is and evaluating whether Uruguay represents an attractive market for German tourists looking for agro tourism and farm holiday destinations. The German market was chosen because it is one of the top tourist-generating countries and one of the biggest spenders in international tourism (The World Tourism organization, 2010). Moreover, most tourists – from outside South America – selecting Uruguay as a tourist destination come from Germany, USA and Australia