Strategies and challenges of the largest European agricultural cooperatives
Analysis of the financial and extra-financial performance of the 100 largest agricultural cooperatives in Europe
AN EXCLUSIVE STUDY THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO :
- Assess the weight of agricultural cooperatives in the main European countries in terms of turnover and employment
- Understand the differences in cooperative statutes in the different European countries
- Map the major agricultural coops in Europe
- Have an exclusive financial analysis of the 100 largest agricultural cooperatives in Europe over the 2014-2019 period.
- Analyze the strategic ambitions of the different agricultural cooperatives
- Evaluate the objectives and concrete achievements of the largest European cooperatives in terms of sustainable development and fight against climate change
More than 210 billion euros : the total turnover of the 100 largest european farmers’ coops in 2019″
Agricultural cooperatives are still relatively unknown economic actors. However, they have a significant weight in most European agricultural and agri-food sectors. They are owned by farmers and have developed over the years both upstream and downstream of the sectors, by developing processing activities and even distribution channels.
FRENCH AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES ARE THE MOST NUMEROUS AND THE MOST DYNAMIC IN THE EUROPEAN TOP 100 BUT ARE NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT.
With around 30 representatives in the European top 100 in 2019, the French cooperatives are well represented, and France is positioned ahead of Germany, which has 17 representatives. However, French cooperatives are not the most important: three French cooperatives exceed 5 billion euros in turnover in 2019 but only one French cooperative is in the European top 10. Europe’s largest cooperative, Baywa, has a turnover of €17 billion, almost three times the turnover of France’s largest cooperative, Agrial.
Southern countries like Italy and Spain have a few cooperatives in the top 100, but there is no Spanish cooperative in the top 50 and only 2 Italian cooperatives.
FRENCH AND GERMAN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES ARE STILL LITTLE INTERNATIONALISED COMPARED TO COOPERATIVES IN NORTHERN EUROPE
Cooperatives in northern Europe (Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands), located in small countries, are the most internationalized. Due to a saturated domestic market, they very quickly focused on exports and international expansion. In 2019, Danish Crown will make almost 90% of its turnover abroad (exports + locations), Arla Foods and Friesland Campina around 75-80%. Conversely, French and German cooperatives, which have a larger domestic market, are naturally less export-oriented. Thus, only a handful of French and German cooperatives achieve more than 50% of their turnover internationally.
EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES ARE INCREASINGLY COMMUNICATING ON THEIR EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
At a time when the fight against climate change has become a priority for many European citizens and agriculture is often called into question, European agricultural cooperatives are increasingly transparent about their impact on the environment. Some of them have set very ambitious targets. For example, the dairy cooperative group Arla Foods wants to reduce its total CO2 emissions by 30% per kilo of milk by 2030 and move towards net zero carbon by 2050.
SYNTHETIC SUMMARY
1) Key figures on agricultural cooperatives in Europe
- Key figures about agriculture in Europe
- Key figures about agricultural cooperation in Europe
2) Financial analysis of the top 100 European agricultural cooperatives
- Top 100 ranking based on 2019 sales revenue
- Evolution over 5 years of the turnover of the European top 100 cooperatives
- Top 100 ranking in terms of net margin
- Top 100 ranking in terms of operating margin
- Top 100 ranking according to the share of international sales revenue
- Study of the different above ratios according to countries and sectors
3) Focus on agricultural cooperation in some large European countries (Germany, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Sweden)
- Main legal characteristics of cooperatives by country
- Key figures for agricultural cooperation by country
- Ranking of the main agricultural cooperatives by country
4) Analysis of the extra-financial performance of European agricultural cooperatives
For the groups publishing this information, we will study in detail some of the key CSR indicators for the year 2019 and their evolution compared to previous years (CO2 emissions, energy consumption, water consumption, share of women among employees, among managers and on boards of directors, etc.).
We will also highlight various initiatives put in place by European cooperatives in the field of sustainable development and the fight against global warming.
5) Case studies on a dozen European cooperatives
THE + OF THE STUDY
- An exclusive financial analysis of the 100 largest European agricultural cooperatives for the 2014-2019 financial years
- A study complemented by interactive graphics that can be viewed online
- A mapping of the main European agricultural cooperatives and business cases on some key agricultural cooperatives
- A comparison of sustainable development indicators developed by European agricultural cooperatives
- Highlight the strategies of European agricultural cooperatives at the international level
Mapping of the co-operatives analyzed in the study