Structure of Duck Egg and Meat Marketing System: The Case of Tamil Nadu (South India)

The monopoly power in the duck egg and meat market structure in Tamil Nadu, the fourth largest duck raising zone of India was analysed by means of Concentration Ratio (CR) and Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (H index) and in the absence of monopoly, Bain’s classification was used to identify the prevailing structure of market. Five channels were identified to market eggs, while three for duck meat. However, the quantum of eggs and meat transacted was high in those channels with trader and wholesaler intermediaries. The 'trader' in the channels lended money and other inputs to the farmers, inturn receiving their produce. In the marketing of duck products, vertical integration was noticed, where a wholesaler or secondary wholesaler was also retailing his products. The ‘H’ index computed for eggs at farm level was 0.149, while CR was 0.11 indicating the absence of monopoly. The ‘H’ index and CR for duck meat were 0.163 and 0.1320, respectively. Despite the presence of atomistically competitive seller and buyer groups, the duck egg and meat marketing system in Tamil Nadu can be termed as `Pure Competitive’ considering the contributing factors such as product differentiation and the degree of market intelligence.