Analysis of structure, conduct and performance of charcoal market in Oyo state, Nigeria Oladejo J. A. Department of Agricultural Economics, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria Online published on 8 October, 2013. Abstract This study was carried out to analyze the structure, conduct and performance of charcoal market in Oyo state with the hope of making recommendations for improved marketing system of the product in the face of scarcity of alternative energy sources. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select respondents. Data were obtained from 150 charcoal marketers in the study area by the use of interview schedule. The Data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that average age of respondents was 46 years, 88.0 percent of them were married, 86 percent were female while the average household size was 6. Analysis further revealed that 12.6 percent of the respondents had no formal education while the average charcoal marketing experience was 5.8 years among respondents. The market structure was found to be perfectly competitive. The regression analysis employed in hypothesis testing revealed that selling price of charcoal, cost of packaging material, quantity sold, cost of purchase, and depreciated fixed cost are variables affecting marketing efficiency in the study area. The study concluded that charcoal marketing is profitable with net returns of #149.90 per bag sold. There is however the need to improve on charcoal market performance in the study area. Top Keywords Structure, Conduct, Performance, Charcoal marketing, Efficiency, Hefindahl index. Top |