Analyzing the Structure and Performance of Shea Butter Market in Bosso and Borgu Local Government Areas of Niger State, Nigeria

Inefficiency in Shea butter marketing is one of the major challenging phases in Shea value chain. Specifically, the research work analyzes the structure and performance of Shea butter market and the constraints associated with the marketing of Shea butter within the sampled communities in Borgu and Bosso local government areas of Niger state, Nigeria. Four communities each were purposively selected from two local government areas of zone II and III of Niger state, Nigeria, 41% of the total number of stratified Shea butter marketers of rural buyers, wholesalers and retailer in each village were randomly sampled to whom the questionnaires were administered; this draw the actual sample size of one hundred and two (102) Shea butter marketers used for the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Gini Coefficient (Lorenz curve), marketing efficiency and margin. The study revealed that more than 90% of those involved in the marketing of Shea butter were women and more than 70% were married while 48% of the respondents had no formal education. The result also revealed an equal distribution of Shea butter amongst the three categories of the market participants (rural buyers, wholesalers and retailer) with Gini coefficients values of 0.077, 0.083 and 0.12 respectively. The marketing efficiency of rural buyer, wholesaler and retailer were 788%, 765%, and 667% while the marketing margin were 13.4%, 12.7% and 9.8% respectively. The major problems faced by Shea butter marketers were lack of standard butter measurement, poor access to credit, poor storage facilities and transportation means, low and unstable market prices. Effort to mitigate these problems entails Shea product certification and quality control, improvement of transportation means, provision of credit and market facilities, these will not only provide ease way of marketing of Shea butter but will also provide a practical, market-based incentive for marketers in the provision of substantial income to support their basic needs.