The Consejo Nacional de Cooperativas (CONACOOP) is the public, non-state representative body of Costa Rica's cooperative movement, established under the Cooperatives Law (Law No. 4179, 1968). Composed of representatives from all cooperative sectors, it is responsible for representing and defending the cooperative movement and its principles, setting the movement's policy direction, and electing cooperative-sector representatives to the board of the National Institute for Cooperative Promotion (INFOCOOP), whose operations it oversees. As the national apex representative organisation, it is a member of ICA Americas.
Supplementary Reference Material
Reference period: 2012年前后
Materials compiled from Sino-foreign exchange visits indicate that Costa Rican cooperatives cover agriculture, finance and other sectors; the materials note that more than 10% of the population are cooperative members, with cooperatives following the ethos of "people helping people, for a better life." The country's agricultural and financial cooperatives are relatively well developed, with export potential in dairy, coffee, beef and palm oil. The national cooperative ecosystem covered in the materials also includes cases such as large dairy cooperatives and labour financial institutions, reflecting the comprehensive role of cooperatives in consumer welfare, agricultural processing, financial services and international trade.
Note: this section is compiled mainly from materials gathered during exchange visits between Chinese and international cooperative organisations, and does not represent an official position. Because it draws on first-hand exchanges and observed institutional practice, it is offered as contextual reference material.