The contribution of marketing co-operatives towards Maltese agriculture

Abstract

The Maltese economy is not based on agriculture. But considering the shortage of food supplies, the increase in world food prices, the progressive yearly increases in the number of tourists visiting Malta - which widens our food market - the importance of the import-substitution effect on the economy as a whole and the gain of more foreign exchange through exports, agriculture becomes an increasingly important factor for development. The agricultural sector however, is not working to its full potential because of various inherent defects. Though it is important to have increased capital inputs in order to achieve the full potential of the agricultural sector, the defects that Maltese agriculture encounters are mainly structural and organisational.