Economic Indicators of Primary Milk Producers’ Co-Operative Societies: Evidence from West Bengal

This paper examines the physical and financial performance of some primary dairy co-operatives in West Bengal state in India. It suggests that financial performance indicators dominate over physical ones, and all the dominating variables have long term positive impact on Primary milk Producers’ Cooperative Societies (PMPCSs). The significant impact of financial performance variables contributes to high profit efficiency for all primary dairy cooperative societies under study. When the profit efficiency is measured only on the basis of financial performance indicators the score of efficiency for all the PMPCSs lies between 90% and 100% level suggesting that all PMPCSs perform well when the performance of PMPCSs is judged only on the basis of financial performance indicators. But when they are judged by the combined effect of both physical and financial performance indicators, all PMPCSs are not performing well because the impact of physical performance variables differs significantly among them. These results seem to suggest that in order to strengthen the dairy development programme on co-operative line at the primary level more emphasis should be given to these dominating physical and financial performance variables in general and physical dominating variables in particular.