Structure, conduct and performance of Plantain Marketing in Edo State, Nigeria

The study examined the conduct, structure and performance of plantain marketing in Edo State. The objectives of the study were to examine the structure and conduct of plantain marketing system, assess its performance and estimate the cost and returns in plantain marketing. Data for the study were collected using a well-structured questionnaire administered to 240 marketers of plantain selected using a two–stage sampling process involving random and purposive sampling techniques. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, marketing margins, marketing efficiency and the Gini-coefficient. The results indicate that the market was characterized with many buyers and sellers reflecting a pure competitive structure, prices were determined mainly by factors such as purchase price, ability of the buyers to haggle, supply and demand forces and cost of transportation. Market associations existed among the marketers but only 32.42% belonged to such associations. Most of the respondents agreed that they used both open display and persuasive efforts to attract customers. The value of the Gini coefficient (0.677) indicates some level of inequality suggesting the presence of market concentration among the respondents. The results indicated a net profit of N15.70 per kg of raw plantain. The marketing margin of #32.1 and efficiency of 95.79% indicate reasonably good performance.