AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION IN DENMARK. 53 
British customers with guaranteed qualit}- eggs and to return to the 
producer a high price. 
Naturally, the cooperative egg-collecting associations of the bacon 
factories constitute a sfrong competitor to the Danish Cooperative 
Egg Export Association, but they do not usually operate in the 
same territory. Only seven cooperative bacon plants engage in 
egg collecting and exporting. According to the information sup- 
plied by the office of The National Federation of the Cooperative 
Bacon Factories, these seven plants exported, in 1921, 175,121 cases, 
or 9.7 per cent of the total export of Danish eggs that year. 
EXTENT OF COOPEKATIVE EGG SELLING. 
Although more than four-fifths of the Danish farmers belong to 
the local cooperative associations of creameries and bacon factories, 
only about one-fifth of the farmers belong to the local cooperative 
egg-collecting associations. Official surveys indicate that the co- 
operative egg-selling movement gained favorable support during 
the first years of operation but has remained at this level for the 
last two decades. 
Two different official surveys of the agricultural cooperative 
movement were conducted by the State statistical department in 
1903 and 1909. 35 In 1903, 20 per cent of the farmers belonged to 
some kind of local cooperative egg-collecting association, but, in 
1909, while the investigation showed an increasing membership in 
both the cooperative creamery and bacon factory, the cooperative 
egg-selling movement remained practically the same. At that time 
only 18.2 per cent of the farmers with poultry belonged to local 
egg r -collecting associations. These members owned 26.7 per cent of 
the poultiw of the country. No similar official investigations have 
been made during the last decade, but the volume of eggs collected 
and exported by cooperative associations would indicate that about 
one-fifth of the Danish export egg trade is handled through co- 
operative egg associations. According to previous figures given, 
(see pages 41 and 53), 20.9 per cent of the total export trade of 
Danish eggs is now handled by cooperative associations. 
PRIVATE MERCHANTS. 
The Danish merchants buy and export eggs through the usual 
marketing scheme. The local village storekeeper buys the farmers' 
eggs, which in turn are gathered by the merchants. Some supply 
the home market and the remainder are exported through the usual 
trade channels. The merchants and exporters have been forced 
indirectly to urge and demand eggs of good quality, especially for 
the export trade. 
Cooperative egg-collecting and selling activities have brought 
about great improvement in Danish eggs for export. They have 
forced the private merchants to pay higher prices, and the merchants 
in turn have demanded more careful selection of eggs for quality 
and grade and they have been compelled to exercise care in collect- 
ing eggs direct from producers. Although their collections are not 
35 Statistiske Meddelelsers, 4 Rakke, 22 Bind, 5 Hafte and 4 Riikke, 36 Bind, 4 Hafte, 
published 1006-1911. 
