The Competitiveness of Ghana's Aluminium Industry

Abstract

“Competitiveness” and “competitive advantage” became global phenomena in the last two decades of the 20th century. Individual firms, industries and nations began to assess their global competitiveness as a strategy for survival and growth. Competitiveness at the level of the firm may be defined as the ability of a firm to survive and grow, in the light of competition from other firms. Companies all over the world seek to gain advantage over their competitors because of pressure and challenge. The presence of strong domestic rivals, aggressive local suppliers and demanding customers foster competitive advantage on those companies that meet the challenges through innovation. In this paper, the emphasis is on the competitiveness of national industries with the aluminium industry in Ghana as the focus. Using the “diamond of national advantage” established by Porter (1990), it is found that Ghana’s aluminium industry has a competitive advantage in the aluminium processing sector but has only limited competitive advantage in the bauxite mining and primary aluminium sectors of the industry. It is recommended that the full integration of the aluminium industry through the construction of an alumina refinery be made. The aluminium industry in Ghana holds a considerable potential in contributing to the transformation of the basically agrarian economy into an industrial one. This will enhance the achievement of Ghana’s goal of becoming a middle income country by the year 2015.