Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2013, 59(3):113-124 | DOI: 10.17221/66/2012-AGRICECON

Strategies and effects of milk producers' organisations in the Czech RepublicOriginal Paper

Tomáš RATINGER1, Iveta BOŠKOVÁ2
1 Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
2 Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information, Prague, Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, milk producers' organisations arose spontaneously from farmers' initiatives in the late 1990s as a response to the need to secure fair market conditions for dairy farmers. At present, there are 39 milk producers' organisations operating locally, nationwide or even on the central European markets. The paper aims at a better understanding what market conditions and transaction attributes have favoured the emergence and the success of the Czech milk marketing cooperatives as well as if their current objectives and strategies are sufficient for securing their future success. The methodological approach rests largely in the theory of industrial organisation combined with the new institutional economics. Establishing marketing cooperatives, dairy farmers balanced market power with processing industry. It is showed on six case studies that the Czech milk marketing cooperatives follow traditional objectives (securing sales, fair price and payment discipline); however, their priorities and strategies differ according to their market environment. If the concentration of the dairy industry continues, there will be a need for reconsidering the objectives of milk marketing cooperatives toward a more vertical coordination in the dairy chain.

Keywords: marketing cooperatives, milk, strategies

Published: March 31, 2013  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
RATINGER T, BOŠKOVÁ I. Strategies and effects of milk producers' organisations in the Czech Republic. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2013;59(3):113-124. doi: 10.17221/66/2012-AGRICECON.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Barton D.G. (1989): What is cooperative. In: Cobia D.W. (ed.): Cooperatives in Agriculture. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1-20.
    2. Bekkum O.F. van, Bijman J. (2006): Innovations in cooperative ownership: converted and hybrid listed cooperatives. In: 7 th International Conference on Management in AgriFood Chains and Networks, Ede, The Netherlands, 31 May-2 June.
    3. Bijman J., Dijk G. van (2006): Corporate governance in agricultural cooperatives: A perspective from the Netherlands. In: International Workshop Rural Cooperation in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Past, Pathways to the Future. Rehovot, Israel, June 15-17.
    4. Bogetoft P. (2005): An information economic rationale for cooperatives. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 32: 191-212 Go to original source...
    5. Cabral L. (2000): Introduction to Industrial Organization. MIT Press, Cambridge.
    6. Chaddad F.R., Cook M.L. (2004): Understanding new cooperative models: An ownershipcontrol rights typology. Review of Agricultural Economics, 26: 348-360. Go to original source...
    7. Cook M.L., Chaddad F. R. (2004): Redesigning cooperative boundaries: the emergence of new model. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 86: 1249-1253. Go to original source...
    8. Curtiss J., Bavorova M., Jelinek L., Medonos T., Kubat J. (2006): Struktura, řízení a sociálně-ekonomické vztahy podniků v českém zemědělství - Výsledky dotazníkového šetření v roce 2004. (Structure, Management and Socio-economic Relationship in Czech Agriculture - Survey Results from 2004.) IAMO, Halle. Available at http://www.iamo.de/dok/EU-Marie-Curie_Curtiss.pdf
    9. Hendrikse G.W.J. (1998): Screening, competition and the choice of marketing cooperatives as an organisational form. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 49: 202-217. Go to original source...
    10. Hendrikse G.W.J., Veerman C.P. (2000): Marketing Cooperatives and Financial Structure. ERIM Report Series Reference No. ERS-2000-09-ORG. Available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=370812
    11. Henriksen I. (1999): Avoiding lock-in: cooperative creameries in Denmark, 1882-1903. European Review of Economic History, 3: 57-78. Go to original source...
    12. Kohls R.L. (1990): Marketing of Agricultural Products. Macmillan Publishing Company, New York.
    13. Krol N., Polman N., Peerlings J., Nikolov D. (2010): Changing governance in the EU milk supply chain. In: IAMO Forum 2010, June 16-18, Halle (Saale).
    14. Kvapilík J., Růžička Z., Bucek P. (2011): Ročenka - Chov skotu v České republice. (Yearbook - Cattle Breeding in the Czech Republic.) Českomoravská společnost chovatelů, a. s., Praha.
    15. Landell Mills (1996): Dairy sub-sector study - final report. Agriculture: Sub-Sector Policy Review. EC-PHARE: CZ 9402-01.02.
    16. Matthew A., Ratinger T., Marsden K., Frohberg K., Hartmann M. (1999): Competitiveness of Czech Agriculture and Food Industry in the light of the EU integration. The final report of the FAO project TCP/CEH/8821. Project Report Volume 1, Summary Report, August 1999.
    17. Meulenberg M. (1978): Farmer cooperatives in the food economy of Western Europe: An analysis from the marketing point of view. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 5: 255-275. Go to original source...
    18. MoA (2011a): Situační a výhledová zpráva. (Situation and Outlook Report.) Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Prague.
    19. MoA (2011b). Zpráva o stavu zemědělství za rok 2010. (The Report on the State of Czech Agriculture in 2011.) Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Prague. Also Reports from years 1991 to 2010.
    20. MoA (2012). Customs statistics. Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Prague. Internal use only. 5Thisissue is treated in the CMO proposal of the CAP 2020 reform. Under the specific provisions for the individual sectors, the limit for collective bargaining in the milk sector is set up to 33% of the national production.
    21. Munker H. (1976): Cooperatives for the Rich or for the Poor, with Special Reference to Cooperative Development and Cooperative Law in Asia. Asian Economy 17.
    22. Nilsson J. (1999): Co-operative organisational models as reflections of the business environments. Finnish Journal of Business Economics, 4: 449-470.
    23. Ratinger T. (1994): Agri-food marketing system in the Czech Republic during economic transition. Final report of the Grant No 91/93 RSS, CEU, Prague.
    24. Ratinger T., Rabinowicz E. (1997): Changes in farming structures in the Czech Republic as a result of land reform and privatisation. In: Swinnen J., Buckwell A., Mathijs E. (eds.): Agricultural Privatization, Land Reform and Farm Restructuring in Central Europe. Ashgate Publ., London.
    25. SAIF (2011). Komoditní zpravodajství (Commodity reporting.) Státní zemědělský a intervenční fond, Praha. Available at http://www.szif.cz/irj/portal
    26. Shaffer J.D. (1980): Food system organization and performance: toward a conceptual framework. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 62: 310-318. Go to original source...
    27. Shopping Monitor 2012 - Central & Eastern Europe (2012). Incoma GfK, Prague.
    28. Slangen L.H.G., Loucks L.A., Slangen A.H.I. (2008): Institutional Economics and Economic Organisation Theory. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen.
    29. Vergroesen A.G. (1989): Agricultural marketing cooperatives, rural development and food system development in two South Asian Countries. [MSc thesis.] Michigan State University, East Lansing.
    30. Williamson E.O. (1985): The Economic Institutions of Capitalism. Free Press, New York.
    31. Wolz A., Fritzsch J., Pencakova J. (2006): Structural social capital and economic performance: findings of empirical data in the Czech Republic. In: 46th Annual Conference of GEWISOLA, Giessen, Germany, October 4-6. Available at http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/handle/14956

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content