Performance of evening street markets of agri-food products in Morogoro municipality, Tanzania
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Date
2011
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
The study aimed at assessing the performance of street evening marketing of agri-food
products in Morogoro municipality by examining the structure of evening agri-food street
markets, assessing the conduct of sellers, analysing performance of the markets in terms
of cost and profitability, and identifying factors underlying profitability. A structured
questionnaire was administered to 118 sellers and 40 consumers selected using
convenience sampling. The results showed that the market structure for both snack-meals
and fresh fruits were competitive, with concentration indices of 20.64% and 18.98%
respectively, and 83% of sellers derived their income entirely from the business. Profit
margin analysis showed that the snack-meals sellers in the town centre earned
significantly (P<0.05) more profit per day (TAS 39 142) compared to sellers in the
periphery (TAS 16 225). Although fresh fruit sellers in the town centre earned more profit
per day (TAS 10 157) compared to sellers in the periphery (TAS 7 811), the difference
was not statistically significant (P>0.1). Regression analysis indicated that gender product
diversification and type of product had a significant (P<0.05) positive impact on the
sellers’ profit. Results also showed that majority of consumers (58%) preferred the street
food because it was cheap, with 40% of them preferred to eat fried banana with beef
barbeque. In conclusion, street evening marketing in Morogoro municipality is profitable
and competitive, with limited barriers to market entry. Recommendations include
enhancing the operational efficiency of evening street agri-food markets and
formalisation of the operations by the municipal council through: allocation of hygienic
premises, provision of business permits and facilitation of formation of sellers’
associations to promote growth and credit worthiness of the evening agri-food street
markets.
Description
MSc. Dissertation in Agriculture Economics And Agribusiness
Keywords
Street food business, Evening street agri-food markets, Agri-food products, Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania