Market Structure, Conduct and Volume of Trade across the Marketing Channels of Fresh Ginger ( Zingiber officinale) in Southeast, Nigeria

The study examined the market structure, conduct and performance of fresh ginger marketing in Southeast, Nigeria. Data were collected from primary source using structured questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics (mean, frequency) and Gini coefficient. Results identified three channels for fresh ginger distribution in the area, while volume of trade across the channels was highest (58%) at channel iii (producer/supplier → wholesaler → retailer → consumer) which is the most preferred channel in the marketing of fresh ginger. Gini coefficient indices of 0.74 and 0.62 for wholesalers and retailers respectively indicated high level of income inequality and concentration of sales in the hands of few marketers which suggests an existence of imperfect competition in fresh ginger marketing. Findings on market conduct indicated that greater proportions (47.2% and 50.6%) of wholesalers and retailers respectively considered degree of freshness as criteria for purchase. Most of the wholesalers (50.6%) and retailers (57.8%) used pricing technique of cost-oriented pricing as the strategy to arrive at market prices for ginger. It was recommended that government should construct good feeder roads and railway network, address irrelevant produce taxes and levies and modernize existing market infrastructure and facilities to encourage new entrants to the enterprise.