ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURE, CONDUCT AND PERFORMANCE OF GINGER MARKETING IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study analysed the structure, conduct and performance of ginger marketing in Benue State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling techniques were used in selecting 256 respondents. Data were obtained from primary source with well-structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, gini coefficient, marketing margin and marketing efficiency analysis. Results from the socio-economic characteristics of marketers showed that 35.2% were male and 64% were female with a mean active workforce of 46.82 years. Majority of ginger marketers (77.3%) were married with mean household size of 9; ginger marketers had a mean marketing experience of 10years, and the mean formal education attained was 7years indicating that most ginger marketers had formal education. The result of the Gini coefficient calculated for structure of the marketers was 0.46 for the retailers and 0.27 for the wholesalers indicating inequitable distribution of sales income for retailers while wholesalers was perfectly competitive. The marketers were faced with the problem of heavy taxation and high cost of transportation. It is recommended that tax payment should be properly conducted to avoid multiple taxation and good roads should be provided to reduce transportation cost.