Identification of Competitive Advantage in the Agricultural Sector of Iran based on the Index of the Stable Share of the Market

Abstract

The goal of this study is to identify the potential export capacity of Iran based on the competitive advantage in the agricultural sector. Moreover, the potential export capacity of selected agricultural products (wheat, lentil, potato, onion, soybean, cotton, peas, and corn) has been studied using the competitive advantage index. The findings of the study show that, considering the separation effect and the net effects of the stable market share index as the competitive advantage index, this index has been negative for the major agricultural products of Iran. Moreover, this index has had a downward trend in recent years, which shows the decrease in competitive advantage. However, although Iran has to some extent lost its competitive advantage, it still has competitive advantage in most of its agricultural products.