Cashew nuts market in south western Nigeria is characterized by price fluctuations through space and time. This may be linked with the large number of market intermediaries who act between the primary producers and th...Cashew nuts market in south western Nigeria is characterized by price fluctuations through space and time. This may be linked with the large number of market intermediaries who act between the primary producers and the markets. The sample for the study comprised 250 cashew nuts marketers who were randomly selected from the five south westem states of Nigeria. About 76 % of the cashew nuts marketers had up to secondary school education and 86% of them had 15-year marketing experience and below. Pricing efficiency of the marketers was highest in Ogun state with average efficiency level of85.1% and least for Oyo state （68.9%）. In all, 720 tonnes were transacted in the region with 206 marketers handling maximum of 2 kg per month per individual. Gini-coefficient estimate of 82.3% implied that there was a concentrated market for the cashew nuts. To further increase the pricing efficiency of the commodity it is necessary to reduce the costs incurred on various physical aspects in marketing system. Corporate organizations, government agencies and co-operative societies should assist the cashew nuts marketers in the provision of credit facilities so as to ensure a higher level of pricing efficiency, stable market prices and reduced level of concentration of the marketers.展开更多
文摘Cashew nuts market in south western Nigeria is characterized by price fluctuations through space and time. This may be linked with the large number of market intermediaries who act between the primary producers and the markets. The sample for the study comprised 250 cashew nuts marketers who were randomly selected from the five south westem states of Nigeria. About 76 % of the cashew nuts marketers had up to secondary school education and 86% of them had 15-year marketing experience and below. Pricing efficiency of the marketers was highest in Ogun state with average efficiency level of85.1% and least for Oyo state （68.9%）. In all, 720 tonnes were transacted in the region with 206 marketers handling maximum of 2 kg per month per individual. Gini-coefficient estimate of 82.3% implied that there was a concentrated market for the cashew nuts. To further increase the pricing efficiency of the commodity it is necessary to reduce the costs incurred on various physical aspects in marketing system. Corporate organizations, government agencies and co-operative societies should assist the cashew nuts marketers in the provision of credit facilities so as to ensure a higher level of pricing efficiency, stable market prices and reduced level of concentration of the marketers.
