Economic and Econometric Analysis of Wheat Marketing in Samarra District – Salah Al-Din Governorate for the 2023 Production Season

Abstract

The weakness of marketing efficiency has led to a decline in farmers' economic returns, which calls for studying the market structure, marketing margins, and the level of marketing efficiency of the crop. The research aims to estimate the structure of marketing costs and calculate the absolute and relative marketing margins for the producer, wholesaler, and retailer, as well as to estimate the marketing efficiency of the wheat crop in Samarra district using field data from a sample of farmers who rely on the sprinkler irrigation method (40), in order to analyze the impact of factors affecting marketing efficiency, namely (production costs, cleaning and sorting, crop collection, transportation costs, loading and unloading, sales commission, and storage). The marketing efficiency function was used in its logarithmic form and analyzed quantitatively using the ordinary least squares (OLS) method. The estimated model proved its statistical and quantitative significance, as the adjusted coefficient of determination reached 0.82%, indicating that 82% of the changes in production can be explained by the production variables entered into the model. The results showed high marketing costs: The average marketing costs for the wheat crop reached 88,000 dinars per ton, with transportation costs constituting the highest cost item (28%), followed by crop collection (22.73%) and loading and unloading (17%). The market value was distributed as follows: the producer (farmer) receives 88% of the consumer price, while intermediaries (wholesalers + retailers) receive 12%, indicating relative efficiency in transferring revenue to farmers. Marketing margins were average, but they reflect transportation, distribution, and logistics costs. The study recommended reducing loading and packaging costs by using mechanical equipment (such as cranes), adopting standardized packaging to reduce waste, improving transportation efficiency by consolidating shipments to reduce trips, and choosing less expensive transportation methods (such as long-distance trains).