Abstract

The study examined the structure, conduct and performance of farm gate marketing of natural rubber in Edo and Delta States of Nigeria. Copies of questionnaires were used on 75 randomly selected rubber farmers. Data collected were analyzed using Gini coefficient and budgetary technique. The results indicated that gross margin and net profit were N17,821.31 and N17,278.47 while the gross margin and net profit per farmer were N62,588.47 and N60,682.00 respectively. The marketing margin and efficiency were 44.03 and 122% respectively. Rate of return was also high. The Gini coefficient analysis showed that the market was concentrated (0.256), showing the possibility of non-competitive behaviour and equality in earnings among marketers.

Key words: Gini coefficient, farm gate, marketing, budgetary technique, Nigeria.