ABSTRACT

The research was embarked upon because of the inherent problems of palm oil marketing and an information gap on the return on investment of palm oil marketing. The major objectives were to determine the profitability and determinants of efficiency as we] I as the return on investment of palm oil marketing. It was carried out in Arochukwu Local Government Area where 80 marketers were sampled and data collected with the aid of a questionnaire. Descriptive statistic tools, budgetary analysis approach as well as OLS regression technique were used to analyze the data. It was found that the marketers were mostly middle aged men and women, generally literate and fairly experienced. It was also found that palm oil marketing is a profitable venture. Mean monthly profit of wholesalers was found to be 175,015.25 while that of retailers was found to be 39,143.78. Mean marketing efficiency of wholesalers was 1.0345 while that of retailers was 1.0920. Return on investment was found to be low and for wholesalers averaged 3.492% while that of retailers averaged 9.22%. Four factors namely; level of education, marketing experience, sales volume and marketing cost were found to influence the marketing efficiency of wholesalers while six factors namely; age, level of education, marketing experience, distance from the market, sales volume and marketing cost were found to influence the marketing efficiency of retailers. The major problems that affect the marketers were found to include seasonality, perishability, high purchase price, high cost of' transportation, exploitative taxes and charges and lack of access to credit. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the marketers be exposed to continuous education, that social infrastructure be provided, that marketers form cooperatives and that disadvantageous policies be reconsidered.