Marketing Channel and Margin Analysis of Wheat the Case of Debre Elias Woreda, North Western Ethiopia

Abstract

The result of this study was analyzing the market chain of wheat in Debre Elias woreda. Specifically aims to analyze the market structure-conduct-performance of wheat market. To collect primary data, 154 wheat producers were selected using simple random sampling method and 31 traders were selected purposively. To address the objectives of the study, descriptive statistics were used. The result indicated that Debre Elias wheat market was inefficient, characterized by oligopolistic market structure. The major barrier to enter into the market was shortage of capital. Licensing and years of trading experience did not hinder entry into wheat trading activities. Moreover, the markets were overwhelmed by information asymmetry with low degree of market transparency. Problems like oligopolistic market structure and information asymmetry made the trading business uncompetitive and inefficient. The study recommends the agricultural sector should improve wheat production capacity by providing new technologies and create stablemarket system for farmer’s surplus production.