ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the general structures and developments in the chain. It aims to outline the governance structures which can be observed in the German dairy value chain, and how current developments. The chapter includes the Genossenschaften as a form of horizontal and vertical cooperative, it extends to which said cooperatives actually play a role in these types of governance. The milk industry has seen horizontal concentration with an increase in company size and a simultaneous decrease in the total number of businesses since the 1970s. The abolition of a law which regulated the catchment area of dairies has strongly influenced the structural transformation process. Catchment areas were regulated in the Milk and Animal Fat Act until 31 March 1970. The German milk value chain has undergone some major changes in the observed time frame between 1990 and 2010. The chain has become shorter and more compact through horizontal concentration and vertical integration.
