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Commodity: History
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Subjects: Economics
Contributor: Luyun Yu

A commodity refers to a standardized, interchangeable good or primary product that can be traded, exchanged, or priced based on common characteristics rather than individual identity. In agricultural and biological sciences, commodities primarily include raw agricultural products and natural resource-based goods that are produced, processed, and exchanged through market systems, such as crops, livestock products, and other biological outputs [1]. The defining characteristics of commodities include physical uniformity, tradability, and the existence of market-determined prices that facilitate exchange among producers, intermediaries, and consumers [2]. Unlike differentiated products, commodities are generally valued according to measurable attributes such as quantity, quality grade, and market conditions rather than unique producer characteristics or branding [3]. Within agricultural economics and policy analysis, the concept of commodity is closely related to production decisions, market organization, price formation, trade flows, and the allocation of agricultural resources across interconnected supply chains [4].

  • commodity
  • agricultural commodities
  • commodity markets
  • price formation

 Agricultural Economics and Policy •  General Agricultural and Biological Sciences •  Agricultural and Biological Sciences • Life Sciences

References

  1. Daniel V. Gordon; Rögnvaldur Hannesson; William A. Kerr; What is a Commodity? An Empirical Definition Using Time Series Econometrics. J. Int. Food Agribus. Mark. 1999, 10, 1-29, 10.1300/j047v10n02_01.
  2. Barrett, C. B., & Mutambatsere, E. 2008. Agricultural markets in developing countries. In: Handbook of Agricultural Economics, Volume 3, 2807–2851. Elsevier. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1142518
  3. Gary Gorton; K. Geert Rouwenhorst; Facts and Fantasies about Commodity Futures. Financial Anal. J. 2006, 62, 47-68, 10.2469/faj.v62.n2.4083.
  4. Johan F. M. Swinnen; Miet Maertens; Globalization, privatization, and vertical coordination in food value chains in developing and transition countries. Agric. Econ. 2007, 37, 89-102, 10.1111/j.1574-0862.2007.00237.x.
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