ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES ON COCOA MARKETING EFFICIENCY IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

This study presents an economic analysis of Cocoa marketing in Ondo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives include describing the socio-economic characteristics of cocoa marketers in the study area, examining marketing activities of respondents, analyzing the cost and returns associated with cocoa marketing in the study area and identifying the challenges to marketing activities of respondents. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 90 cocoa marketers. Descriptive and Budgetary analyses were employed to analyze data. Results of analysis showed that 84.4% of the respondents were married with average household size of 5.46 and 38.9% attained tertiary level of education. Average age was 46.49 years while respondents claimed 16.89 years (mean) of marketing experience. Budgetary analysis showed that Cocoa marketing is profitable in the study area with gross margin of #1,665.90 per bag sold and benefit cost ratio of 1.04. Respondents were found to perform marketing activities efficiently. Results further revealed that financial handicap, price instability and high transportation cost are the most pressing challenges militating against cocoa marketing activities in the study area. The Regression analysis revealed that the number of cocoa bags transacted per season, storage cost, rent/building cost, age of marketer, number of years spent in school were significant variables influencing revenue generated by respondents. The study concluded that cocoa marketing is a profitable enterprise in the study area and recommends that the cocoa marketers should initiate cooperative society through which financial assistance could be provided to members.