Concentration of beef market in East Nusa Tenggara (ENT) Province, Indonesia

Market concentration is an important indicator to see the market structure and level of competition in beef cattle industry. This study used data of farmers and traders from Kupang Regency, ENT Province, Indonesia to see market concentration, namely, Concentration Ratio(CR4), Hirschman-Herfindahl Index(HHI), Hannan-Key index(CPI), Rosenbluth index(IR) and Entropy index(IE). The results showed that the market concentration of beef cattle at the farmers level was categorized as perfect competition markets and market concentration at the level of traders was categorized as the oligopsonistic competition market. The market structure between farmers and traders in ENT made the income received by farmers is always low that is approaching or not even exceeding production costs. Therefore an accurate and transparent market information system is needed in ENT so that farmers are able to have bargaining power so as to obtain fair profits. Even though the income derived from the sale of cattle is low, the beef cattle farmers still survives in their business because they do their business as a job carried out from generation to generation to support their household economy. Beef cattle farming as a way of life is kept to fulfill the social and cultural demands of society in ENT.