Marketing Channels Used by Goose Breeders and Marketing Efficiency

The main purpose of this study was to reveal the marketing channels used by goose breeding farms in Kars province and to determine their marketing efficiencies. The primary data of this study were obtained from questionnaires conducted with 90 goose breeders in the Central, Arpaçay and Susuz districts of Kars province. Overall, goose farms consume a small portion of the geese they raise, while the majority is marketed, and it was found that domestic consumption was higher in small farms. Although it varied according to the farm, it was determined that the geese were marketed as live, fresh or dried. The most produced and marketed product is fresh carcass goose, followed by dried carcass goose and live goose. Among the by-products of goose, giblets are the product with the highest production and marketing amount. When the proportional distribution of live goose sales amounts according to marketing channels was analysed, the highest number of live goose purchasers were foreign traders (38.53%), followed by direct consumers (30.55%) and other producers (24.40%). It was seen that fresh goose meat is sold to two marketing channels: direct consumers and hotels. The most preferred marketing channel for dried goose meat is direct consumers (57.40%). When the frequency of sales to goose buyers by the interviewed farms was analysed, it was seen that direct sales to consumers are quite common. The main criterion taken into consideration by the interviewed goose breeders in goose marketing were determined as price, payment method and reliability of buyers, in order of importance. Under traditional marketing conditions, the marketing efficiency index of goose breeders in fresh goose was calculated as 5.60 on average. It was seen that the highest marketing efficiency index was for large farms. The fact that the marketing efficiency index was greater than 1 in different farm scales showed that goose farms work effectively in marketing. The fact that goose breeders obtain higher prices than traditional sales channels due to the use of direct sales channels in fresh goose marketing is considered as an effective factor in increasing marketing efficiency.