Analysis of Timber Marketing in Lokoja Metropolis, Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

Inadequate marketing information about timber species, their sources, market structure and performance has greatly hampered the effectiveness of the business and has hindered investment in the forestry sector. The dearth of market information on market performance and activities have hindered investments in to forest industry and limited its capacity to contribute to economic growth and development of the country. This study therefore analysed timber marketing in Lokoja Metropolis, Kogi State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to collect relevant information. Purposive and systematic sampling were applied to determine the study sample which was drawn from three timber markets; Ganaja, Felele and Zango daji. Applying 30% sampling intensity except in markets where the traders were less than ten, 40 timber traders were systematically sampled and interviewed on timber marketing activities. The study identified seven (7) most marketed timber species namely: Daniellia oliveri, Gmelina arborea, Milicia excelsa, Ficus exasperata, Prosopis africana, Triplochiton scleroxylon and Khaya grandifoliola. The major source of timber was from the open forest (92.5%), while supply within the state (27.5%) accounted as the highest, followed by Abuja (20%). The Gini-correlation co-efficient analysis for the study was 0.1552, and this implies that the timber market is imperfectly competitive with the market structure tending towards monopoly. Timber income analysis per truck of the seven species revealed that Daniellia oliveri recorded the highest mean return of 517, 005.99 per month while Ficus exasperata had the least mean monthly gross margin of 35,336.56. The mean gross margin of Khaya grandifoliola, Milicia excels, Prosopis africana, Gmelina arborea and Triplochiton scleroxylon had the same mean returns of 466,270 per month. Low patronage, scarcity of demanded wood species, lack of supply of wood species and high tax were identified as the major challenges facing timber market in the study area. Provision of adequate market education, proper examination and checking of excess associations will improve market efficiency and performance. Therefore, investment into forest development should be encouraged to ensure sustainable supply of raw materials for an efficient market system.