Profitability Analysis of Cocoa Marketing in Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was conducted to analyze the profitability of cocoa marketing in Abia state, Nigeria, with specific objectives to examine the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents, determine the level of marketing cost, profit, and marketing efficiency of cocoa marketers, and estimate the determinants of profit for cocoa marketers. Data was gathered from 120 cocoa marketers in 2 local government areas and 12 villages, using a multi-stage random sampling technique. Structured questionnaire schedules were employed for data collection and analysis involved descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions, mean and percentages, budget analysis, Shepherd Futrell model, and multiple regression models. Findings revealed that the majority of cocoa marketers are male, married, literate, young with a household size of 7 persons, and have at least 8 years of marketing experience. The cost and return analysis indicated that cocoa marketing is profitable, with the cost of Aquabouy accounting for 40.01% of the total marketing cost. Additionally, the selling price and marketing cost were identified as significant variables influencing the profit of cocoa marketing. It is recommended that the government of Abia state should strengthen facilities such as agricultural banks, commercial banks, and microfinance banks to enable cocoa marketers to access loans at a single-digit interest rate with no collateral and minimal bureaucratic hurdles.