More than 2,500 new cooperatives are to be formed in Mazandaran, said the head of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Organization in the northern province. Ali Babaei added the new cooperatives will create jobs in the manufacturing, service, and agricultural sectors. Earlier, the minister of cooperatives, labor, and social welfare said that Iran ranks fourth in the world regarding the number of cooperatives. Ali Rabiee called on officials to try to “maximize productivity in the existing businesses” rather than increasing their number. The minister went on to say there was no plan to increase the number of cooperatives in the near future.
