Exports by cooperatives in the seven months ending October 22 stood at $1.3 billion, according to deputy minister of cooperatives, labor and social affairs, Hamid Kalantari. The cooperatives sector’s share in the national economy was envisioned to be 25% in the Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2011-16), ISNA reported. However, in reality, the cooperatives sector currently has only a 6% share in the national economy.
