Abstract
Goats are important to the socioeconomic wellbeing of the pastoralists in Moyale district in terms of nutrition, income and intangible benefits. However, the development of the subsector faces challenges such as information about market actors, and that of the market structure, conduct and performance. Therefore, this study was aimed to analyze goat market structure, conduct and performance in Moyale district. Primary and secondary data were employed for the study. Primary data were gathered from randomly chosen sample of 196 goat producers and 32 goat traders. The data was analyzed using descriptive method. The result of the study indicated that the major goat market actors in the district are goat producers, cooperatives, collectors, small-scale traders, large-scale traders, hotels and restaurants, and consumers. In the structure-conduct-performance analysis, four firms concentration ratio (CR4) of goat traders in the district market was 44.72 indicating weak oligopolistic market. Lack of capital is reported as the main barrier to entry particularly for large-scale traders and collectors. Negotiation is the main price setting strategy and the cash on hand is the mode of payment traders are mainly using in the district. Producers’ share of the consumers’ price was highest when they directly sell to consumers and lowest when they sell to collectors. The study recommends the need to enhance market competitiveness so that to reduce concentration and collusion of existing traders; to overcome the problem of capital barrier, improving the usage of credit facilities is vital; and to develop the skills of pastoralists through training to help them negotiate more effectively in the goat trading business.