Estudios de competitividad sectoriales. Industria manufacturera

The aim of this study is to analyse competitiveness in textiles, garments and design, and pharmaceutical industry in Uruguay. In textiles, wool and leather industries are expected in the medium run to maintain their competitive capacity, increasing the importance of design to create products with more aggregate value. Firms in Uruguay that present important advantages will continue to grow, even when growth expectations are moderate, specially for big firms. Public policies could contribute to maintain in this sector low production costs. In garments and design industries it can be expected a recovery in local and regional markets, although there might be some restrictions to this growth: competition with MERCOSUR partners, dynamism in informal sector, and restrictions from factor supply. Competition with global rivals will continue to rise, that together with the quota elimination in destination markets and with the quality improvement of rivals’ products, will constitute a major threaten to our industry. For that reason, it can be expected a moderate general growth in the sector, with some star products. In the pharmaceutical industry, the local market presents slow growth and decreasing prices. Those laboratories that intend to expand towards exports are planning some investments to widen their capacity, but as their competitive area is the one of “generics” they do not consider developing new products. Instead, they tend to assure quality and access requirements from sanitary authorities in buying countries. Future development of this industry in the medium run depends on several complex factors. Finally, this study presents the economic policies that affect our interest sectors.