The article discusses the importance of cooperation on the current economic stage as one of the forms of cooperation in the arena of the market of small, medium and large businesses. The aim of this work is the study of contemporary problems of agricultural co-operation and development of effective ways of functioning of the cooperative sector, which is a sustainable development factor of socio-economic systems, contributes to the protection of the interests of its participants, increasing of competitiveness at the industry and national markets. 

In compliance of the objectives outlined the following objectives of its decision:

- to justify the relevance of research in modern Economics;

- to analyze the economic interdependence of market subjects and their effectiveness in key financial indicators;

- identify the causes, constraining the effective development of the cooperative forms of management.

The scientific novelty of the results of the study consists of the following:

- it is proved that the basic idea of the cooperative movement is a transition from small businesses to large-scale activity, which today has a real embodiment in life;

- it is proved that co-operation is a key element of sustainable development of rural areas and market institutions and is based on a solid social base of farms, individual farms;

- as a result of the carried out estimation of parameters of functioning of the agrarian market subjects, proposed an alternative way of economic interaction of participants of the cooperative company. 

As a conclusion it should be noted that the development of the cooperative sector in economic realities increases significantly in the conditions of Russia's accession to the WTO, ensuring competitiveness of the domestic products and first of all the country's food security.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-1-28