Advances in Food Science and Technology

Advances in Food Science and Technology ISSN: 6732-4215 Vol. 13 (3), pp. 001-008, March, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Market Strategies and Storage Solutions for Palm Oil in Imo State: An Economic Perspective

Nwauwa Linus Onyeka Ezealaji

Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected].
Tel: +2348054818134.

Accepted 16 September, 2024

Abstract

The major objective of the study is to determine the profitability or otherwise of palm oil storage and marketing among the people of Imo state of Nigeria. Data for the study were collected by the use of questionnaire purposively distributed among the respondents who processed palm oil stored and marketed by themselves and those who do not process the same. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and gross margin analysis to determine the costs and return of palm oil from the processing and storage points to the various marketing outlets. Socio-economic characteristics of the respondents showed that the non-processors of palm oil stored and marketed acquired more education than the processors while majority of the marketers are 50 years and above. The results of this study further showed that the average gross marketing margin per drum of palm oil under storage was N6,164.64k for respondents processing their own oil for storage and N5,345.33k for respondents who do not process their own palm oil (that is, who purchased, stored and marketed palm oil). The best periods to buy and sell palm oil stored were found to be within the months of March and September respectively. The result further concluded that the hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the net returns of palm oil resulting from its storage is significant at 1% level. On the basis of the findings, the study recommends that processors of palm oil stored and market should acquire formal education in other to boost their profit level and government to provide incentives such as modern method of processing palm oil to encourage youths into the business.

Key words: Marketing, palm oil, storage and processing.