Analysis of the Economic Performance of the Milk Processing Cooperatives

In economic studies of cooperatives, little attention has been paid to the different economic behaviors of cooperative and profit maximizer firms.There is a rich theoretical literature of cooperation theory which indicates that if the society wishes to catch the benefits of the cooperation, the coops must ignore profit maximizing behavior. Instead,they must attempt to maximize their own and their member's welfare.In this study, the economic behavior of the Iran's small cheese coops were analysed.For this purpose, a panel data of 7 coops for 1995-2003 period were used.Results showed that these coops were profit maximizer firms and not cooperative ones, and hence the producers who deliver their raw milk to them, and consumers of their produced cheese didnt make benefit from the advantages of a real cooperation behavior in milk processing industry. Besides results show that analysed coops have not full efficiency in applying fuel and raw milk factors.