Iran’s cooperatives sector has created 1.8 million jobs in different economic fields, according to the head of Iran Chamber of Cooperatives.
“There are more than 94,000 cooperative firms with 18 million members in the country’s 31 provinces. These firms are active in a host of fields, including transportation, agriculture, construction and housing, mines and services,” Bahman Abdollahi was also quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
The official added that cooperative companies account for 70% and 60% of Iran’s agricultural and transportation operations respectively.
A total of 55 cooperatives were registered during the first two months of the current Iranian year (March 20-May 20) to register an 88% decline compared with the corresponding period of last year, latest data released by the Chamber of Cooperatives show.
These cooperatives have 2,385 members and created 433 jobs with the latter, indicating a 95% year-on-year decline.
The decline is said to be due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown and downturn in economic activity.
The highest number of cooperatives was registered in the provinces of Gilan, Alborz and Yazd with 11, 8 and 7 companies respectively.
The largest number of cooperatives was registered in the fields of agriculture with 19 and services with 18.
A cooperative is a jointly-owned enterprise engaging in the production or distribution of goods or the supply of services, operated by its members for their mutual benefit, typically organized by consumers or farmers. Cooperative businesses are typically more economically resilient than many other forms of enterprise, with twice the number of cooperatives surviving their first five years compared with other business ownership models. They frequently pursue social goals by investing a proportion of trading profits back into their communities.
The parliament has tasked the government with increasing the share of cooperatives in gross domestic product to 25% by the end of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2022).
According to Bahman Abdollahi, the head of Iran Chamber of Cooperatives, the current share of cooperatives in GDP is around 7%.
