Multi-Market Analysis of Maize Marketing Efficiency in Northern Nigeria

Maize is a food security staple and a critical industrial input in Nigeria's livestock feed and starch sectors. Market efficiency in the Nigerian maize system, particularly across northern producing states, has significant implications for food price stability, producer income, and agro-industrial competitiveness. This study conducts a multi-market analysis of maize marketing efficiency across spatially dispersed markets in northern Nigeria, covering Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, and Borno States in the North West and North East geopolitical zones. Monthly wholesale maize price data spanning 2018 to 2024 were sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics and commodity market records. Spatial price integration was examined using the Johansen cointegration framework and the vector error correction model. Marketing efficiency was further assessed using marketing margin and producer price share indicators from a structured survey of 200 market actors. Results indicate cointegrating relationships between all market pairs in the sample, suggesting long-run price transmission. However, adjustment speeds to price shocks were slow in border markets affected by insecurity and poor road conditions. Producer price shares were lowest in isolated surplus zones where seasonal glut coincided with poor transport access. Marketing costs accounted for an average of 28 percent of final consumer prices. The study recommends investment in inter-state commodity corridor road infrastructure and promotion of warehouse receipt systems as tools for reducing the seasonality-driven efficiency losses in northern Nigerian maize markets. Keywords: maize marketing efficiency, spatial price integration, cointegration, northern Nigeria, commodity markets