Q.Fill in the blank and justify: The trading surplus of a consumers co-operative society paid to members in proportion to their purchases is known as the __________.

A consumers society rewards members not only for the shares they hold but for the custom they give.

The correct term for the blank is patronage bonus.

After setting aside a reserve fund, a consumers co-operative society distributes the remaining trading surplus in two ways. A limited dividend is paid on the shares a member holds, but the distinctive co-operative device is the patronage bonus — a share of the surplus paid to each member in proportion to the value of the goods he has purchased from the society during the year. …

Students sometimes write 'dividend'. A dividend is paid on shares; the payment tied to purchases is specifically the patronage …