World Aquaculture Magazine - March 2021

WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2021 61 ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6 2 ) dependent on the fish marketers, the lower the income or profit realized from the business because more money and time is allocated to family issues. Membership in an association can enhance marketing activities through improved access to credit available to groups rather than individuals, as well as provide other benefits. Association membership can result in better prices for commodities through collective bargaining, tax concessions due to their large numbers, bargaining power and influence, enhanced information dissemination and efficient fish marketing (Salau et al . 2017). Nonetheless, Agbebi and Adetuwo (2018) found that most fish marketers do not belong to associations. About half of respondents do not pay association dues, indicating that fish marketers were not financially active in their associations. Structure of the Fish Market The Gini coefficient (GC) is a measure of statistical dispersion used as a measure of inequality of wealth or product distribution, defined as a ratio with values between 0 and 1. Mathematically, the GC is calculated as: GC = 1 – Σxy, where x = percentage share of each class of seller and y = cumulative percentage of sales (Ojo 2014). The Gini coefficient was determined from the revenue realized by respondents in the study area. Analysis of the market structure determines whether the market is competitive (GC < 0.4), oligopolistic (GC > 0.4) or monopolistic (GC = 1). The calculated Gini coefficient (0.71) indicated that concentration of the market is relatively high. This denotes that the market is not shared equally by market actors, income distribution is unequal and the market is oligopolistic. Hence, the efficiency of the market structure was low. Taru et al. (2010), Egbeadumah et al. (2016) and Ojo et al. (2016) confirmed inequalities in the income realization of sellers. A Lorenz curve is used to represent income distribution by showing the proportion of total income that goes to each percentage of a population. It relates the cumulative percentage of market share to cumulative percentage of traders. The straight line in Figure 2 represents the line of equality, representing a perfect market, where 50 percent of the market population obtains 50 percent of the market share. The Lorenz curve of Ekiti State fish marketers indicated that 16 percent of respondents accounted for 79 percent of the market share. The curve indicates inequality in the income distribution of fish marketers in Ekiti State. However, fish marketing is a profitable venture for producers, wholesalers and retailers in the study area (Table 5). The market efficiency of producers was greater than 100 percent, indicating that fish marketing activities were efficient. Similarly, Babalola TABLE 4. Conduct of fish market. Var i ab l e s Fr equenc y Pe r c en t age Pricing of fish Marketing cost and returns Bargaining power Prices set by competitors Forces of demand and supply Standardized fixed price Units of measurements Basket Cartons Manual sorting Weighing scale Membership of association Cooperative Society Fish Marketing Society General Marketing Union Fish Association of Nigeria No Association The regularity of payment of association dues Daily Weekly Monthly Yearly No payment Benefits derived from association Loans Supply inputs Price fixing Advertisement Transportation Save money Give information Unity and occasions No benefit Alternative choice when the price of fish is high Meat Pork Goat Chicken Fish Pomo Egg How respondents attract customers Open display Personal persuasive effort Television/radio/pamphlets advertisement Open display and personal persuasive effort Means of transporting fish by respondents Motorcycle/tricycle Bus/taxi/lorry On foot Sell at the pond Marketing risk of respondents Selling on credit and not pay Theft Spoilage No risk Incentives used in persuading customers Bonus Price discount Free transport services High quality Bonus and price discount No incentives 64 25 4 8 4 6 30 15 54 24 32 4 15 30 2 8 19 20 56 5 6 9 2 4 5 3 31 40 53 2 3 5 28 9 5 39 46 10 10 27 40 9 29 42 3 5 55 23 51 13 8 1 9 61.0 23.8 3.8 7.6 3.8 5.7 28.6 14.3 51.4 22.9 30.5 3.8 14.3 28.6 1.9 7.6 18.1 19.1 53.3 4.8 5.7 8.6 1.9 3.8 4.8 2.9 20.5 38.1 50.5 1.9 2.9 4.8 26.7 8.6 4.8 37.1 43.8 9.5 9.5 25.7 38.1 8.6 27.6 40.0 2.9 4.8 52.4 21.9 48.6 12.4 7.6 1.0 8.6 Membership in an association can enhance marketing activities through improved access to credit available to groups rather than individuals, as well as provide other benefits. Association membership can result in better prices for commodities through collective bargaining, tax concessions due to their large numbers, bargaining power and influence, enhanced information dissemination and efficient fish marketing.