Market information, marketing education and training, promotional campaigns to promote egg consumption, marketing research to aid in producer and trader decision making and the availability of credit are all needed to help a marketing system operate more efficiently. These activities may be seen as facilitating services for producers and traders. Marketing services include the following:
Those involved in production and marketing of eggs should engage regularly in training. The broad objectives of most egg marketing educational programmes are to help producers understand the demands of the market and modify their production and marketing accordingly. Processors/packers, wholesalers and retailers can be helped to become more effective and efficient so that eggs can be marketed with less waste, less loss in quality and at a lower cost.
Extension officers can lead meetings, discussions and demonstration programmes on egg production and marketing. They should make regular visits to production and marketing centres to keep in touch with current developments and problems. The extension officer can provide a valuable link between technical research workers and market intermediaries and the producers.
The duties of an extension officer are described below.
1. Understand the functioning of the egg industry. This involves looking at such issues as egg production processes, statistics, major enterprises, the geographic distribution of egg production, price trends, sales volumes, sales methods and when sales occur.
2. Advise farmers on the possible potential of egg production. Advice can be given on what marketing opportunities there may be, how to calculate the demand for eggs, how to calculate marketing and production costs and what processing and storage facilities may be required.
3. Raw materials. The extension worker must advise the farmers on where to obtain equipment and materials for building brooder and laying houses, feed, small chicks and all other materials that are necessary for production. Materials needed for packaging must also be considered. Importantly, the farmer must be advised on how to grow and manage small chicks, the feed required and the type of environment necessary. The input suppliers should be surveyed and their prices for equipment, small chicks, feed, etc., collected. Delivery and credit conditions with various suppliers should be covered. The extension worker should advise small farmers to group together to purchase and transport raw materials to the various small farms. This will result in cost savings for the farmers.
4. Financing of raw materials. Extension workers should determine how farmers could finance the required inputs. Can farmers rely on their own cash savings or credit institutions? If not, what credit is available and from which institutions, and is it possible to promote savings that may then be invested in egg production.
5. Production. The farmer needs to be advised on what breed to buy, when to buy day-old chicks, when to place grown chicks into the laying house, when they will start laying and how long they will lay profitably. The production cycle should be covered thoroughly and all requirements, such as feed, water, clean nests, etc., should be included.
6. Post-production facilities. Farmers should be advised on facilities that are required once eggs are produced, such as storage facilities, and cleaning, grading and packing facilities. Information concerning the cost of such facilities and where materials can be obtained should be provided.
7. Promote small farmer associations. Practical advice on the formation of cooperative or group production, packaging, processing and sales associations and pooling schemes should be given. Importantly, the extension worker should promote to farmers the idea of grouping or associating together. This will lead not only to savings in the purchase of inputs, but will also improve opportunities for egg marketing. The pool of raw materials, production and marketing capabilities will create a better bargaining position for small-scale farmers. It will also enable them to have better access to credit, and will give them the opportunity to adopt innovations more easily and at a lower cost.
8. Understanding marketing. Farmers must be assigned to understand what marketing is and what are the marketing channels for eggs. Different prices may be obtained from different markets. Farmers must be active in looking for buyers and in determining who they are, what price they may obtain and quantities of supply required and, furthermore, whether they pay in cash and when they pay, and whether the price they pay is higher or lower than that of other buyers. Farmers must learn how to calculate their production and marketing costs. They must also be able to understand when and where to sell eggs and the quantities to be sold based on market information. It is also important to understand the costs and possible profitability of storage.
9. Pricing. Farmers should be advised on the principal factors that form and influence prices. They should learn how to calculate costs and profit.
10. Marketing channels. Extension workers should constantly monitor the channels available. They should explain the channels, their efficiency and costs to farmers and advise on possible channel alternatives. Furthermore, they should teach farmers how to monitor channels and explain the opportunities that may arise from using different channels and the relative cost savings that may be obtained.
11. Legislation. The extension workers should explain to the farmers the legislation that could affect production and marketing of eggs, relative quality standards, sales contracts, etc.
12. Sources of market information. Farmers should be told how to obtain market information from government, local municipalities, radio bulletins, etc. Farmers should be trained to carry out simple marketing research. (see section on marketing research below).
13. Challenges and opportunities. Possible risks and opportunities that may be present in the industry in months or years to come must be considered by the extension worker. They should advise on the need for smaller packaging, new production and processing techniques that may allow for cost savings, new market openings, etc.
14. Requirements to improve marketing. The extension worker should instruct farmers on a regular basis regarding the prevention of losses during handling and transport, standards, quality control, grading methods and candling, simple but effective cooling devices, etc.
15. Visits. Regular visits to packaging, grading and processing establishments should be made by the extension worker so that he can constantly monitor the situation. Where possible, extension workers should encourage farmers to visit production and processing facilities.
The importance of market information has to be emphasized. This information is of vital importance for producers and traders. It will enable them to produce and trade based on what markets require. Market information could be defined as a service, usually operated by the public sector, that involves the collection on a regular basis of information on prices, and in some cases quantity, of widely traded agricultural products from rural assembly markets, wholesale and retail markets. This service also involves the dissemination of this information on a timely and regular basis, through various media, such as radio and newspapers, to producers, traders and consumers.
Up-to-date reports on supplies available, quantities sold and in storage, prices paid at major markets at local, wholesale and retail levels are invaluable for an efficient marketing system. Marketing information services can help in the following ways.
Assembling reliable, valid and unbiased reports is not an easy task. Experience in interpreting and checking information supplied by individual buyers and sellers is essential. The collection of market information is especially difficult when many transactions take place through private negotiations, yet it is here that it is most needed. Personal enquiries of buyer and seller may be necessary. The transactions covered should be those that have the most influence on price making and which concern the most important categories of eggs traded. Care should be taken to relate prices to quality, implying the use of a uniform set of specifications throughout the reporting sequence.
Marketing research is necessary in order to help producers make decisions regarding marketing. Marketing research can be defined as the systematic and objective search for, and analyses of, information relevant to the identification and solution of any problem in the field of marketing. Marketing research aids decision-making, however, it will not fully eliminate risk.
Marketing research has advantages and disadvantages. The main advantages of marketing research are:
Marketing research should be carefully planned and each step of the process analysed before the actual research begins. The first step is to clearly define the purpose of the research and the objectives. The objectives must be measurable, quantifiable and attainable. Costs of the research must be carefully evaluated and budgeted and the time duration considered.
Possible marketing research plan for eggs
1. Recognition of information needed or problems. It is important to define carefully the information that is required. For example, from a simple information requirement such as what eggs to sell, many sub-questions may arise such as the following.
- What type of eggs is most in demand?
- Are more brown eggs sold?
- Are more white eggs sold?
- What size egg is sold the most?
- Do different outlets require eggs of different sizes, colour and packaging?
- What is the market price?
- Who is buying eggs?
2. Definition of objective(s). The objective or objectives of the research should be defined clearly. For example, do shopkeepers want eggs in trays or in retail cartons?
3. Deciding on what tool(s) to use to gather information. Information may be gathered by observation, survey, or from already published and available data. Observation is simply observing phenomena and recording them as they occur, for example, observing consumers at a market and what they buy. A survey involves questioning consumers, wholesalers and retailers in order to gain information of interest. A survey also involves preparing a questionnaire. For example, consumers may be asked what type of eggs they prefer, while retailers could be asked what type of eggs they sell the most.
4. Formulation of appropriate tool(s). Importantly, if either observation or survey is chosen as a tool to collect information, the tool must be carefully designed. The design for observation should tell the observer if he or she must look at a particular aspect of a market or observe the whole market. The design for the survey should look at what type of questions should be asked and how they should be asked. For example, the questions could be as follows.
- Do you like eggs? Yes/No
- Do you buy eggs? Yes/No
- Do you buy eggs every day? Yes/No
- Do you buy eggs at least once a week? Yes/No
5. Information gathering. When the information is being gathered, it must be done in an unbiased and uniform manner and be recorded accurately.
6. Analysis of information. Once the information has been gathered, it must be analysed and evaluated. For example, if consumer data has been gathered regarding egg buying habits, it is necessary to group the various results into categories, such as income and/or geographic location of customers.
7. Results and conclusions. The summarized data will give some clear results from which conclusions may be drawn. For example, if it was found that the majority of consumers eat brown medium-sized eggs, one should aim to produce brown medium-sized eggs.
The main methods that can be used to expand consumption are improved marketing organization and consumer education and promotion.
Improved marketing organization
Improvements in marketing organization and methods are often a prerequisite to expanding consumption and hence production. The existence of well-run buying, packaging/processing and distribution enterprises promotes both production and consumption. It dispels doubts in the minds of potential consumers regarding quality, freshness and wholesomeness of the eggs offered.
Consumer education and promotion
A continuous programme of consumer education and promotion may help increase egg consumption. Eggs are of high nutritional value, easily digestible and especially good for children, pregnant women and the elderly. Educating young school children regarding the goodness of eggs may prove over time to be a good strategy to increase consumption. Radio advertising, radio talk shows, advertising, collaboration with public and private agencies seeking to improve health, living and nutritional standards may all increase consumption. Such programmes can be carried out by single enterprises or enterprises grouped together in order to share the costs and benefits of the initiative. Importantly, such initiatives should be carried out in collaboration with retail outlets, schools, hotels, restaurants and hospitals so as to obtain the maximum benefit of the educational and promotional campaign.
It may be of great value to form a trade association for egg producers. An association can impose determined standards and requirements in order to guarantee that eggs produced by its members are of a determined quality. The association may help in introducing and disseminating knowledge and new techniques of production and marketing. It may put producers into good bargaining positions vis-à-vis transport facilities, wholesalers and retailers.
Trade associations are set up on a voluntary basis by enterprises and are usually most effective when organized by individuals and enterprises with common business interests. Membership is voluntary and funds are obtained either as a fixed amount per year from each member or as a fixed amount on volume sold. Usually officers are elected to perform association duties and permanent or ad hoc committees may be appointed to handle certain issues or programmes.
Producers’ credit needs have an important bearing on marketing organization and costs. Limited access to credit is a common barrier to the establishment of improvements and increased production and marketing. For example, if the establishment of new production facilities such as hen houses is required, the producer may need to obtain credit.
In order to acquire eggs and finance their movement through marketing channels, traders must either draw the necessary capital from their own resources or be able to obtain it on short-term loan.
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Marketing success in Chile The Chilean egg industry is predominately based on the traditional family business. The industry has about 8 million layers in production on an annual basis. Two million layers are found in large production facilities, while the greater part, 6 million layers, comes from small-scale producers. In Chile, between 75 and 80 percent of all eggs marketed are white shell eggs, the remaining are brown. Ninety-two percent of egg sales are through public markets and small retail stores, while the remaining 8 percent are sold in supermarkets. About 80 percent of egg producers are associated with Asohuevo, Chile’s producer association. This association carries out strong publicity campaigns and managed to increase per capita consumption from 105 eggs in the 1980s to 165 in the 1990s. |
