Financial Management, Profitability, and Business Viability of Livestock Traders in Mimika Regency

Purpose: This study analyzes the profitability, business viability, financial recording practices, and factors influencing the financial performance of livestock product traders at Pasar Sentral Mimika, Central Papua Province. The market faces challenges including external supply dependency, logistics costs, supply risks, and price volatility.
Research Methodology: A quantitative descriptive approach using census sampling was applied to 50 active livestock product traders. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, observations, and secondary sources. Analysis included descriptive statistics, financial indicators (Revenue Cost Ratio (R/C Ratio), Return on Investment (ROI), and Net Profit Margin (NPM)), financial recording assessment, and internal-external factor evaluation.
Results: All commodities were financially viable with R/C >1. Mixed-product traders achieved the highest performance (R/C=1.18, ROI=17.99%, margin=15.25%), while broiler chicken traders showed the lowest (R/C=1.07, ROI=7.14%, margin=6.67%). Profitability was limited by undocumented withdrawals, hidden costs, and weak financial recording, with 80% of traders lacking written records. Low financial literacy, price fluctuations, supply dependency, and logistics costs were the main influencing factors.
Conclusions: Livestock trading at Pasar Sentral Mimika is financially feasible but not optimally managed. Strengthening financial literacy, simple recording systems, local supply chains, and product diversification are essential to improve business sustainability.
Limitations: Single market location (n=50), financial data relies on recall with limited formal records, cross-sectional design, capital leakage estimates are approximations, study does not apply regression analysis to test formal causality.
Contributions: This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of multi-commodity livestock traders’ financial viability and management practices in Mimika.