Marketing of Estuarine Shrimps in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study evaluated the economics of estuarine shrimps marketing in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It was specifically designed to ascertain the profitability of the enterprise, evaluate the structure and conduct as well as the channels involved in shrimps marketing. A total of 180 marketers were interviewed during the study Results showed the existence of three marketing channels namely: producer/marketers, wholesalers and retailers. Factors that significantly (p<0.01) affected the profits of marketers were sex, age, educational level, primary occupation of marketers, marketing experience, access to credit and distance to the nearest shrimps market. The markets were highly spatially integrated with integration indexes lying between 0.78 and 0.91 with corresponding correlation co-efficient of between 0.82 and 0.84. The market was highly competitive with minimum barriers to entry and exit. Contrary to perceived notions the local market for shrimps was found to be highly organized and profitable and could offer a lot of employment opportunities. Most of the shrimps caught were sold in the local market. The export channel was the least patronized by the respondents. Keywords: Marketing, Shrimps, Estuarine, Nigeri