Etude Des Marges Dans Les Circuits De Commercialisation De Céréales Au Sud-Bénin : Cas Du Maïs (Zea Mays)

Boosting agricultural marketing systems is now one of the best ways of integrating markets and equity in marketing channels. The present study aims to study the margins in the marketing circuit of cereal products in South Benin. This study specifically focused on corn marketing channels. For this purpose, a survey was conducted among fifty (50) blind corn merchants. The data collected were related to the socio-demographic characteristics of the traders, the supply circuits, the purchase and sale prices of the maize, as well as the various transaction charges. These data were collected on the basis of a questionnaire and an interview guide addressed individually to sampled traders. The information collected was analyzed from SPSS software v. 20 and STATA. The marketing of maize is economically and financially profitable in southern Benin. The analyzes show that this activity is much more profitable for wholesalers in terms of gross profit margin and profit margin. However, from the point of view of fairness, retail traders are much more favored. The distribution of income from maize marketing is therefore not fair. It is therefore imperative to develop policies to reduce the transportation costs facing wholesalers for the most part. Other actions should also be undertaken in order to increase the purchasing power of traders and then participate to the reduction of food security in Benin.