Study of broiler market structure at the producer and wholesale levels: A case study of Fars province

In this study, average price of kilograms of live broiler, chicken meat in wholesale and retail levels and marketing margins in Fars province compared to other provinces and market structure for live broiler producers and chicken meat in the wholesale level were evaluated and analyzed. For comparing prices and marketing margins paired t-test, and for evaluating market structure the concentration ratio, Herfindahl - Hirschman, inverse the number of firms, Hall - Tideman and Linda indices were used. The studied period is from April 2011 to December 2015. Results show that the average daily price of kilograms of live broiler in the Fars province is lower than most provinces, while the average daily price of kilograms of wholesale and retail chicken meat and average wholesale margin is more than most provinces and these differences is statistically significant. The market structure of producers for selling live broiler in the Fars province is perfectly competitive. Market structure of chicken meat in the wholesale level based on the concentration ratio and Herfindahl-Hirschman indices are respectively oligopoly and monopolistic competition.