CS - Globalisation And Agricultural Cooperatives

Globalization is one of the greatest strategic challenges for agricultural cooperatives. Globalization has increased significantly over the last decade, and despite financial crises and recession in many parts of the world globalization will likely continue — albeit with less force than before. Cooperatives have specific challenges of globalization. In some areas, cooperative challenges have been solved. Critical issues such as the use of foreign raw materials and production abroad are now a part of business development in several large cooperatives. Foreign members are also increasingly common, still not without challenges. In other areas, however, more structural and fundamental problems persist. Here major changes in the organization of cooperatives are required if all advantages of globalization are to be exploited. Danish agriculture has for decades been characterized by a high market share for cooperatives and a structure which to a high degree has been export and globally oriented, indicating no specific problem concerning globalization of cooperatives.