Analysis of profit efficiency of soybean marketing chain in North Central States of Nigeria is aimed at solving the problems of soybeans marketing. The objectives are to estimate profit efficiency of soybean marketers in the study area and to analyse the effect of socioeconomic factors on profit efficiency among soybean marketers. Purposive and multi-stage sampling were used to select 481 respondents. Data were collected through structured questionnaire and analyzed with stochastic frontier profit function. The study revealed that some marketers were efficiency as indicated by mean efficiency of 81.45% for wholesalers and 78.55% for producers marketers but processor and retailers were inefficient marketer with mean of 46.69% and 26.63% respectively. Among the small scale processors, transport cost (3.73477), storage cost (1.95338), sex (-1.787311) and years in school (- 5.156828) significantly influence profit efficiency. For the wholesalers, market levy (2.76892) and cost of produce (-9.57957) as well as inefficiency factors of age (-2.83778) and schooling (2.43442) were significant. Among soybean retailers, the cost of produce (-4.07721) and bagging (-1.81227) were significantly related to profit. The result of producer marketers revealed that cost of bagging (-7.5945), transport (2.38061), market levy (12.4141) and cost of produce (-2.06000) significantly influence profit efficiency. Of the inefficient effects, years in school (-2.26556), membership of association (-1.97485), household size (2.15480) and marketing experience (3.35806) were related to profit efficiency. The study recommends that government should provide social amenities such as road, water supply and electricity for soybean marketers. Extension agents should teach soybean producers the best use of input such as fertilizers and agrochemicals. The result of research on soybean processing and utilization should be properly disseminated by extension agent.

Keywords : Profit Efficiency, Soybean Marketers, Stochastic Profit Function.