The Cooperative of Saffron (Greece)

Project Coordinator

Image

The Cooperative of Saffron was founded in 1971. The Cooperative has its headquarters in Krokos village of Kozani, within which the agricultural operations of its members take place. The mission of the Cooperative is to:

  • Coordinate the cultivation of the saffron plant to increase production and improve quality.
  • Collect and distribute the product.
  • Standardize and uniform in appearance that same product.

In order to achieve its aim, the Cooperative develops any legitimate actions it sees fit and more specifically the following:

  • It sees to the scientific study of the cultivation of the plant.
  • It sees to the training of the farmers and the distribution of specialized and related information and directives.
  • It provides its members with agricultural items needed for the cultivation of the plant, especially with superior seed.
  • It collects, processes, standardizes, packs and distributes the product on behalf of the partners.
  • It participates with a % of 55% in the company Krokus Products Kozanis S.A. along with the company Korres Natural Products S.A offering organic beverages with Kozani saffron.

The legal form of the Cooperative is governed by the Legislative Decree 818/1971 "establishing Kozani Saffron Producers Cooperative of the Kozani district" which gives the Cooperative the exclusive responsibility of harvesting, sorting, processing, packaging and trading the whole production of Kozani Krokos (Saffron).

The founding of the Cooperative created a body that has the complete responsibility of collecting, processing, packing and distributing the product in order to ensure its quality and to avoid the adulteration that was done by the traders in the past, resulting in the degradation and negative image of the product.

The lack of bargaining power as well as the inability to explore the international market, leads the producers in 1966 in establishing the Free Producers Cooperative, which was renamed in 1971 to Kozani Saffron Producers Cooperative. Since then the official name of the Cooperative is: "KOZANI SAFFRON PRODUCERS COOPERATIVE".

Initially, the cooperative was only responsible for gathering saffron and transporting it in bulk, since the final packaging was carried out by foreign distributors who were not concerned with its origin. Therefore, a considerable proportion of the value added went to outside the cooperative. Furthermore, despite its better quality, Krokos saffron was sold at the same price as saffron produced in other countries. As a result, the cooperative’s Board of Directors realized that a global approach was necessary and a strategy for the entire circuit (production, packaging, preparation, and marketing) defined, while emphasizing its quality at every level, from the producer to the customer.

In 1992, the Cooperative decided to develop the on the spot production by developing a strategy to valorize a product by improving its quality, installing packaging and packing equipment and drawing up commercial strategies to promote the product.

The Cooperative consists of roughly 1000 members while on the cultivation of saffron are employed around 5000 people. Each producer has the obligation to give the product to the Cooperative for joint management.

The Cooperative is housed in a three-story building (owned by the Cooperative) with a total area of 612.40 m² and a volume of 2,152 m³. The building is located in a plot of 477.20 m² (also owned by the Cooperative) within the settlement of the borough of Kozani’s Krokos.

CERTIFICATION

The Kozani Saffron Producers Cooperative has gained quality assurance certificate ISO 9001 in 1997 and it has developed a certified organic cultivation of saffron. In addition, the name “KROKOS KOZANIS” is registered as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).

Image

KROKOS KOZANIS PDO

The European Saffran

img_983711.jpg
organic-glass-jar-1g.jpg
img_9838.jpg

 The Kozani Saffron Producers Cooperative from Greece and SONIMPEX TOPOLOVENI from Romania, are the beneficiaries of the Multinational project entitled “European Treasures”