AKSU Journal of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development

MANGO FRUIT MARKETING IN MAKURDI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Author:  Chiemela, Chinedum Jachinma, Onyia, Chukwuemeka Chiebonam, and Joseph, Deborah Chidimma

Abstract
The study analyzed mango fruit marketing in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. Data for the study were collected from 120 marketers. Descriptive statistics and Gross margin analysis and were used to analyze the data. The finding showed that the mean age of the marketers were 36.1 years, mean household size was 6.0, mean years spent in school was 12 years, majority (88.3%) of the marketers were females, majority (63.3%) were married, also majority (56.7%) of the marketers sold broken variety of mango. Data on the marketing channels of mango fruits showed that majority (63.3%) of the produce was sold to the consumers. Majority (65%) of the marketers bought their produce from wholesalers while (25%) and (10%) bought from local assemblers and producers respectively. The analysis of the costs and returns of mango marketing using gross margin analysis showed that the gross margin of the retailers and wholesalers were N71,500 and N312,800 respectively, while the return on investment for both retailers and wholesalers stood at 0.21 and 0.69 respectively. The study therefore recommends that government should encourage the marketers procuring directly from producers by rehabilitate the bad roads and create good road networks; marketers should be educated on proper packaging, effective transportation, and handling techniques in order to increase their return on investment and marketing margin. Lastly, efficient storage facilities should be made available to mango marketers to encourage large purchase of the produce and extend the shelf life of their market wares thereby decreasing postharvest losses.