Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Economiques et Sociales (LARDES), Département d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales, Faculté d'Agronomie, Université de Parakou, BP 123; Parakou, Benin
This paper investigates the determinants of the economic profitability of cashew nuts marketing in North-Eastern Benin. The study was conducted in the municipality of Tchaourou by using survey methods on respondents randomly selected from different categories of actors interacting on the market. Primary data were collected with respect to the marketing year 2013-2014 on up to 160 cashew nut traders such as 91 collectors, 25 retailers, 31 semi-wholesalers and 13 wholesalers. The methodological approach used was based on the paradigm Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP). As a result, four types of marketing systems of cashew nuts were identified in the municipality of Tchaourou. The analysis of the net margins showed that the cashew nuts marketing in Tchaourou generates average net margins of about 9.08fcfa/Kg for the collectors; 13.12 fcfa/Kg for the retailers, 10.56 fcfa/Kg for the semi-wholesalers and 21.16 fcfa/Kg of cashew nut for the wholesalers.The test of ANOVA highlighted a significant difference between these average values of net margins recorded by the different actors. Moreover the marital status, the experience in marketing, the invested capital in the campaign, the cost of commercial labor and the category of commercial actor determine the level of economic profitability of cashew nuts marketing. As a matter of fact, a particular attention has to be given to these determinants in order to sustain the cashew nuts marketing field in North-Eastern Benin.