Economic Analysis of the Milk Supply Chain in Swaziland

Abstract

The Dairy industry in Swaziland is made of several of actors where small holder farmers are the main producers. A majority of the farmers sell their milk to informal markets rather than the formal market due to high prices offered by informal market. The study analysed the performance of the milk supply chain in Swaziland. A descriptive quantitative research design was used in the study and data were collected by personal interviews using structured questionnaires. The data were collected from 93 farmers, 16 retailers and 1 processor. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Gross margins. There were 73.1% male farmers and 50.5% had between 8 and 14 years of formal education. The channel that involved the processor had high marketing margins of E8.13, while the one involving cooperatives and shops had E4.00 and E3.00 respectively. There is a need for improving extension service, encourage cooperatives and improve the price of milk offered by the processor to enhance profitability of milk farmers.

Keywords: Marketing margins, marketing channels, milk supply chain, Parmalat, producer’s share