Organizational Structure of Cooperative in Thailand

Cooperative in Thailand are very vertically organized in a three-tier system; primary cooperatives at district level and federations at provincial and national level. The primary cooperative consists of individual members while members of provincial and national federations are cooperatives. The members elect the board of directors through the general meeting with maximum number of 15 persons for cooperative development policies formulation. The board of directors, then, appoints a manager and staff to run the cooperative business.
 
Five of more cooperatives at primary or provincial level can form a provincial of national federation together to undertake joint activities on behalf of their affiliations such as processing and trading of agricultural products.

At national level, there is the Agricultural Cooperative Federation of Thailand of which all 76 provincial agricultural cooperative federations are affiliate. There are also the Sugarcane Growers Cooperative Federation of Thailand, Swine Raisers Cooperative Federation of Thailand, Dairy Cooperative Federation of Thailand and Onion Growers Cooperative Federation of Thailand. Thrift and Credit Cooperatives, and Consumer Cooperatives are affiliated in a national federation of their own.

All types of cooperatives at all levels, according to the Cooperative Act, B.E.2542, have to implicitly be affiliates of the Cooperative League of Thailand (CLT). The CLT in functioning as an apex body of the whole cooperative movement. It does not run as a business enterprise, but acts as a facilitator, coordinator and provides educational support in the promotion of all cooperative progress.