Pig marketing and factors associated with prices and margins in Western Kenya

Levy MA¹*, Dewey CE¹, Weersink A², Mutua FK³ and Poljak Z¹

¹Department of Population Medicine, Centre for Public Health and Zoonosis, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G2W1.

²Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G2W1.

³Department of Public Health and Toxicology, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: mlevy@uoguelph.ca. Tel: 1.519.265.0846.

Accepted 11 December, 2013

Abstract

This study evaluated the marketing margins and profits of local pig marketing enterprises in Western Kenya. A unique set of data on pig prices, pork prices, marketing costs, the operational practices and socio-economic characteristics of butchers were collected from 49 pig butcher enterprises in four purposively chosen divisions in Western Kenya. Mean marketing and profit margins ranged from 27 to 41% and 5 to 10%, respectively, depending on the weight category of the pig purchased. There was a moderate (0.59) correlation (p<0.001) between the butchers’ ranking of the pork price charged to customers and their profit. Mixed models and generalized linear models were used to assess factors associated with five outcomes: pork prices charged to consumers, pig prices paid to farmers, marketing and operating costs, marketing margins, and profits. In this study, pig weight, division and education level were associated with most outcomes. Butcher profits were moderate. Butchers operating in larger volume markets charged higher pork prices and earned higher profits. Farmers received lower prices per kg for pigs that were smaller (22 kg) than the mean market weight of 30 kg. Capital constraint, the need for personal negotiations and the absence of contracts limit the marketing capacity of pigs and the returns available to butchers and farmers.

Key words: Pigs, butchers, smallholder farmers, marketing, margins, profit, Kenya.