Abstract
The study analyzed the determinants of fish marketing and profitability in four selected markets in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Primary data collected through a multi stage random sampling of eighty (80) fish traders were analyzed using descriptive statistics, profitability ratios, Gross and marketing margins as well as Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression. Result showed the dominance of married (75%), female marketers (70%) with high level of education. The result further showed that N 145.83 and N147.00 accrued to wholesalers and retailers as net income per kilogram of fish sold, representing 28.10% and 25.7% of the total marketing margins, with marketing efficiency of 674.14% and 787.78% respectively. This, together with the profitability Index (PI) of 0.24 and 0.23 and Operating ratio (OR) of 0.76 and 0.77 for wholesalers and retailers further lend credence to the profitability of fish marketing in the study area. Among the factors which impacted significantly on fish trader’s profit were marketing experience, access to credit, storage cost, transportation cost, fish buying prices and age of marketers. Also, high transport cost, inadequate storage facilities, poor funding, high levy and other taxes were identified as the major challenges faced by fish marketers in the study area. These observation suggest the need to reduce transport and storage cost by providing access roads, rehabilitating damaged roads, providing storage facilities such as cool rooms and warehouses at affordable storage rates. Access to agricultural marketing loans should be enhanced through the provision of affordable credit. These, together with the evolution of a realistic tariff and tax structure would promote fish marketing and enhance marketing efficiency in the study area. Also, our unemployed youths should be encouraged through awareness campaigns to venture into fish marketing as a profitable venture in the study area.