Abstract

Li Na Pingping, Lu Cheung

This study was initiated with the objective s of evaluating the marketing margin of tomato in the district of Bamako in the period of abundance 2012. The study analyzes the marketing of tomato and identifies the problems and opportunities for enhancing the gross margin. A survey was conducted using structured que stionnaires to collect primary data from 40 whole salers and 40 retailers. The re sults of the estimation of marketing margin functions were obtained using the relative price spread. This study revealed that the majority of respondents were more than 35 years of age; about 95% of them were female. It was also revealed that 50% of wholesalers were illiterate, while 7.5, 32.5 and 5%, had organic, primary and secondary education level, respectively. The results indicated that the farm-gate price (205.13 Fcfa/kg) and marketing cost (114.23 Fcfa/kg) of tomato are among the highly in fluential factors on the entire marketing margin. The wholesale margin function was affected by the wholesale price (408 Fcfa/kg) and wholesale cost, while the retail margin function wa s influenced by the retail price (421 Fcfa/kg) and the retailer cost.