Agronegócio cooperativo: o caso de uma cooperativa de citros do Rio Grande do Sur (Cooperative-based agribusiness: the case of the lemons cooperative of Rio Grande do Sur)

This study is justified by the uniqueness of the cooperative Ecocitrus located in Montenegro, in the Vale do Cai, Rio Grande do Sul, which specializes in organic citrus and vertically integrated chain links in order to overcome the difficulties of individual producers which usually depended on intermediaries. The overall goal of this research is to verify the advantages of the cooperative system for producers members, by identifying the procedures adopted by the cooperative. The results indicate that shareholders are benefited by the existence of the cooperative through access to new markets, organic production possible by providing free organic compound by the cooperative, the receipt of technical assistance and product differentiation.