PERFORMANCE OF DATE PALM FRUIT MARKETING IN JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study examined the performance of date palm fruit marketing in Jigawa State, Nigeria. Purposive and simple random sampling procedure were employed in selecting 122 marketers in the study area. Data was obtained through primary source with the aid of questionnaire and gross margin, marketing efficiency, Return on Investment (ROI) and marketing margin were employed in the analysis. The average gross margin of retailers and wholesalers were ₦0.46/kg and ₦2.01/kg, respectively. Gross margin for wholesalers revealed a total monthly revenue of ₦21,069,750.00 and ₦19,843,500.00 for retailers with 42555.38 kg as total quantity of date palm fruit traded by wholesalers and 47840.63 as total quantity traded by retailers. The result revealed that gross margin for both retailers (₦48.23/kg) and wholesalers (₦36.17/kg) were positive, an indication that both categories of respondents are making profit. The average marketing efficiency of wholesalers and retailers were 117.11% and 115.08%, respectively. The marketing efficiency of retailers (109.83%) in Shuwarin market was higher than that of wholesalers (107.30%); and efficiency of wholesalers (120.36%) was higher than retailers (117.53%) in Babaldu market. The result indicated that marketing efficiency of retailers (117.12%) was higher than wholesalers (116.10%) in Maigatari market and retailers (110.36%) had higher efficiency than wholesalers (106.33%) in Gumel market, while wholesalers (135.44%) had higher efficiency than retailers (130.48%) in Kazaure market which is an indication that both wholesalers and retailers are efficient in the marketing of date palm fruit in the area. The Return on Investment (ROI) indicated that marketing of date palm fruit was profitable since the ratio-values were greater than one implying that ₦1 invested into the business, marketers get an average of ₦0.15 and ₦0.17 for retailers and wholesalers, respectively. The average marketing margin of retailers and wholesalers were 16.20 and 20.41, respectively, an indication that wholesalers realized higher margin (higher profit) than retailers. In conclusion, wholesalers realized higher profit in bulk transactions while retailers realized more profit in smaller transactions. Purchase of large quantity of date palm fruit during peak period, provision of storage and processing facilities in the study area were recommended.