Mercosul´s agricultural cooperatives: an essay about Internationalization strategies

This work evaluates the importance of internationalization strategies for agricultural cooperatives in the MERCOSUL customs union (composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). After an overview of the cooperative agriculture sector and the current agribusiness trends in the countries, internationalization strategies and trade expansion opportunities are discussed. Changing business environments marked by increases in competition, consolidation, technological innovation, multinational firms, and international relations are cited as reasons for internationalization, a process that could benefit agricultural cooperatives by creating economies of scale and geographical and ownership benefits. The following are given as necessary prerequisites for entering into internationalization schemes: access to primary goods or customers, a reputation for quality, flexibility, innovation, and know how. A discussion of barriers to the internationalization of cooperatives is also presented, such as spatial/geographic contradictions, finance difficulties, governance, and cultural problems. Next, all the possible options are given in the Export/Import, Foreign Direct Investment, and Commercial Agreements areas. The article concludes by noting that despite the difficulties of creating international cooperative systems, the construction of farmer-owned international business agreements and structures holds promise for assuring survival of small scale producers, combating trends that decrease margins for primary product producers