Assessing Porter’s Framework for National Advantage: The Case of Jordanian Agricultural Sector

This study applied Porter’s Diamond Framework to explore the competitiveness of the Jordanian agricultural sector. A SWOT analysis was also used to review the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Jordanian agricultural sector. Horticultural production can offer high returns and Jordan may have a comparative advantage in fruits and vegetables production. Given its natural resources and climate, one might expect Jordan to be capable of producing a variety of highquality fruits and vegetables to meet stringent consumer demands in both domestic and international markets. But examination reveals poor production technologies, lack of marketing infrastructure, inadequate produce classification, in addition to unmet grading and packaging arrangements. The Jordanian agricultural sector confirms Porter’s (1990) hypothesis, it derives considerable advantages from basic and generalized factors like lower labor cost. Jordan is a developing country with a large and rapidly growing population; this means that agricultural products face a considerable potential increase in demand. But in Jordan, the local demand relies on price rather than on quality and, as a result, the local market for agricultural products is not by any means sophisticated. The diamond model showed that the current situation of the Jordanian agricultural sector does not reflect its full potential. Crucial issues concerning product quality and standards, packaging and marketing must be addressed if the sector is to be developed to meet its potential and compete globally