Production, storage and processing of fruit and vegetable products in the Centrosoyuz consumer cooperative: problems and prospects

Abstract

Consumer cooperation organizations have extensive experience in harvesting, processing, storing and selling agricultural products. It is the procurement that is the sphere of functioning of consumer cooperatives, which supplies its own stores and processing shops with fresh agricultural products and raw materials, bypassing intermediaries. Despite the fact that fruits and vegetables retain their priority position among other types of purchased products, consumer cooperation has begun to lose its position in their market turnover. One of the reasons for this is the deterioration of the main production assets for processing and storage of fruit and vegetable products. The purpose of the study is to consider the prospects of fruit and vegetable production, the role and opportunities of consumer cooperation in the chain “production-processing–sale”. Methods: induction and deduction, comparison and abstract-logical, monographic and economic-statistical allowed us to solve the problems. The authors studied the scientific works of cooperative theorists published more than a century ago, modern publications, annual statistical collections and reports. The following results were obtained. Consumer cooperation works in the socio-economic space in the interests of low-income segments of the population, residents of remote and hard-to-reach places that are not interesting to retail chains. In such circumstances, the Centrosoyuz should make every effort to make the system as a channel for selling vegetables, fruits and berries attractive to market participants: villagers, farmers, agricultural organizations and cooperatives, processors, and trade. The analysis, conclusions and suggestions will be useful to the management of consumer cooperation organizations in developing long-term programs for the development and modernization of the material and technical base of the procurement industry in order to increase its competitiveness.