Export Competitiveness and Comparative Advantage of Pakistan’s Non-agricultural Production Sectors: Trends and Analysis

Abstract

This paper analyses export specialisation of Pakistan’s non-agriculture production sectors during 1990-2000, by using the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) approach at HS 4-digit level. The paper provides an insight into the challenges and opportunities that Pakistan’s non-agricultural sectors face as they become rapidly integrated into global markets. The paper identifies those non-agricultural export categories in which Pakistan is losing, gaining, or maintaining its export competitiveness. The study examines the extent to which Pakistan’s leading non-agriculture product lines have witnessed a shift in comparative advantage away from the traditional labour-intensive production to the export of technologybased production activities. The study also provides an in-depth investigation of export specialisation of Pakistan’s non-agriculture production sectors by dividing key HS 4-digit non-agricultural product lines into six distinct groups based on their position in Pakistan’s RCA profile. To assess the relative competitive position of various manufacturing and mining activities, the study also provides a comprehensive analysis at the sectoral level.