Paper Title
Comparative Analysis of Marketing Efficiency of Farm Gate and Itinerant Palm Oil Traders in AkwaIbom State, Nigeria

Abstract
The study compared the marketing efficiency of farm gate and itinerant palm oil traders in AkwaIbom State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study derived and compared the efficiency level of the traders and estimated the determinants of marketing efficiency of the respondents. A multistage sampling procedure was adopted to select 240 respondents for the study (120 farm gate palm oil traders and 120 itinerant palm oil traders). Primary data were obtained using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a market budgetary approach and a multiple regression model. Results showed that the average total revenue, total marketing cost, net income, and marketing efficiency of the farm gate traders were: N98,324.55, N67,852.59, N30,471.96, and 44.90% respectively, while those of itinerant traders were: N706,959.60, N443,956.01, N263,003.59, and 59.24% respectively. Net income (p<0.01), household size (p<0.01), credit amount (p<0.01), market information (p<0.05), cost of labor (p<0.10), transportation cost (p<0.10), storage cost (p<0.01), and selling price of palm oil (p<0.10) determined the marketing efficiency of itinerant palm oil traders. Also, Net income (p<0.01), household size (p<0.01), market information (p<0.05), storage cost (p<0.01), and purchase cost (p<0.10) determined the marketing efficiency of farm gate palm oil traders. Since the efficiency of itinerant palm oil traders was higher than that of farm gate traders, farm gate traders should be supported by the government and non-governmental organizations to expand their market access through better transport infrastructure, mobile trading opportunities, and organized linkages with urban markets. Keywords - Net Income, Profit, Cost, Palm Oil, Traders, Farm Gate, Itinerant