Canada includes all cooperatives in this study except financial cooperatives. The report includes number, memberships, business volume and balance sheet data of marketing, supply, fishing, consumer, production and service cooperatives. Consumer cooperatives had the largest membership with nearly 3 million members. Service cooperatives ranked second with 932,000 memberships.
Marketing cooperatives represent a major economic force in Canada.
The remaining business volume came from consumer goods and agricultural supplies. Cooperatives' market share of grains and oilseeds at the farm gate was estimated at 59 percent in western Canada and 21 percent in the eastern province of Ontario. Data on individual fruits and vegetables are not calculated separately for U.S. farmer cooperatives. Supply cooperatives also play an important role in Canada. They provide member cooperatives and producers with fertilizers, crop protectants, feed, farm machinery, seeds, petroleum and other inputs needed on the farm.