The study analysed the marketing of maize in Irewole Local Government Area of Osun State. It described the socio-economic characteristics of maize marketers and determined the marketing margin, marketing cost, markup, operational efficiency and the constraints faced by maize marketers in the area. Data used for the study were generated through the administration of structured questionnaire. A total of 120 respondents comprising of 40 maize wholesalers and 80 retailers, were randomly sampled from three purposively selected major maize markets. Descriptive statistics, Concentration Ratio, Gini Coefficient and Operational Efficiency Model were the analytical tools adopted for the study. The findings of the study revealed that maize marketing was efficient and profitable, N900 and N1200 per 100kg bag for wholesalers and retailers respectively in the study area. There also exists variation in marketing cost, marketing margin, marketing profit, and markup for both wholesale and retail maize markets. Gini Coefficients of 0.319 and 0.312 were obtained for wholesaler and retailer respectively indicating high level of competition in the industry. Major problems facing both wholesalers and retailers are price uncertainty, high perishability of maize and, seasonal nature of maize. Also, insecurity and high capital requirement are considered as serious constraints. It is therefore recommended that the challenges be alleviated to improve efficiency of maize market in the area.
Key words: margin, cost, markup, efficiency, constraints, corn
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