ANALYSIS OF MARKET STRUCTURE, CONDUCT AND PERFORMANCE OF CABBAGE IN POLOMOLOK, SOUTH COTABATO

This study was conducted in November to December of 2021 in Polomolok, South Cotabato. This study aimed to determine the cabbage's market structure, conduct, and performance. The study used descriptive statistics and the Gini coefficient to determine the market concentration in the study area.

Regarding marketing structure, cabbage trading is dominated by single proprietorships due to the low capital requirements. It shows that traders like simple businesses where profits aren't shared with other owners and have complete control over what they do in their businesses. The Gini coefficient result was 0.5977 for wholesaler-retailer and 0.6585 for retailers, indicating a highly concentrated market. Traders like the wakamine variety because it is small, has a globe-shaped head, and is popular with people. They sell it right away so that it doesn't lose its quality. Traders may easily enter and exit the market because of the low starting capital requirements and it is a pure competitive market. The marketing channel of the cabbage in Polomolok consists of a producer who grows cabbage, a wholesaler-retailer who buys cabbage from the producer, a retailer who buys cabbage from the wholesaler, and then a consumer who buys to the retailer.

For the marketing conduct, the cabbage traders have a competitive pricing strategy. Traders get price information from various sources and base their pricing determinations on the current season or match their rivals' rates. There is no collusion in the market because there is competitive pricing. For cabbage traders, cash-to-cash is the most common way to pay. This makes the transaction easier and avoids problems.

The marketing margin, marketing cost, and marketing efficiency were used to assess the cabbage marketing performance in Polomolok, South Cotabato. The marketing margins revealed that retailers attained the highest marketing margin of 26.67 percent, while wholesaler-retailers had 10.64 percent in wholesale and 21.37 percent in retail. In Polomolok, South Cotabato, it was found that cabbage trading has a profit surplus, which indicates inefficiency in the supply chain.