Study on the Economics of Pineapple Marketing in Anambra State, Nigeria

The study analysed the economics of pineapple marketing for entrepreneurial utilization in Anambra
State Nigeria. Data for the study were collected from 104 respondents which comprised of 40 retailers
and 64 wholesalers randomly sampled from eight markets of the study area (4 markets from each of
the two cities). The markets are Main market, Ose, Ochanja and bridge-head market areas were
selected from Onitsha commercial city while Eke, Nkwo Amaenyi, Aroma junction and Nnamdi Azikwe
University(UNIZIK) temporary site market areas were chosen from Awka Capital city. The markets
were purposively selected because they are where higher concentration of middlemen in pineapple
business are commonly found in the cities. Descriptive statistics and gross margin analysis were used
in data analysis. The study inter alia revealed that the majority (62%) of pineapple consumed in the
study area were sourced by the middlemen from outside Anambra State, showing that the state is not
self-sufficient in the crop’s production. Respective return on investment made by the wholesalers and
retailers were (0.23 and 0.32) indicating that the trade on the crop is profitable. It was further revealed
that high transportation cost and lack of fund to increase business scale were the main constraints of
the pineapple traders. The study concluded that investment opportunities exist on the crop’s market,
production and processing and therefore recommends that the potential traders and entrepreneurs
should exploit the crop’s business potentials.