Market performance of watermelon trade in the selected markets, Kampala district

Abstract

Watermelon is one of the most important fruits with nutritional value cultivated in the tropics and traded all over the world. Despite of its importance globally, watermelon trade faces challenges accrued from its transportation, poor storage facilities and lack of an organized marketing system. This study analyzed the market performance of watermelon in six selected Kampala city markets. Specifically the study sought to; (i) describe socio-economic characteristics of watermelon traders, (ii) analyze gross margin of watermelon trade and (iii) determine marketing margin of watermelon trade along the selected value chain. Simple random sampling was used to select 90 retailers stratified by the selected markets and levels of retail trade and 30 wholesalers (N=120). Data was collected using questionnaires, analyzed descriptively using means, frequencies, and percentages during marketing margin, linear regression and gross margin analysis. Results on the socio-economic characteristics of watermelon traders indicate that they were more men than females, zebra F1 was the traded variety and most of the traders do keep records. The study also showed that watermelon trade is very profitable among watermelon traders. The study concluded that watermelon trade has high market performance. Watermelon traders in KCCA markets should join trade associations and also get financial assistance in order to expand on the scale of operation.