Raw material

A raw material is a matter extracted the nature (Natural resource), or produced by it, used in the production of end products or like energy source. For those intended for the food, one speaks rather about Denrée S

Examples: Oil, Natural gas, Ores, Rice, Corn, Sand (for the Glass or the Silicon for Integrated circuit), Potash, rubber…

The raw materials generally require a first treatment or refining (to pass from the ore to metal, or beet - or cane - sugar, for example) and are regarded as Intermediate consumptions in the production process.

Economic role

The market

The market of the raw materials remains a important Economic activity in the world, even if the share of those in the end value of the products and services tends to drop.

This market functions at the same time by the means of long-term contracts between the large producers and users, and in the form also of short-term trade being exerted on the level of the produce exchanges. Among the large traders one can quote Glencore in particular, undertaken Swiss statute and leader of the operations on the metal matters.

The supply and of in the world

The prices of the raw materials, except those particularly rare in nature (for example the palladium used in the catalytic pots) tend to being low and cyclic. That was regarded at one still recent time as leading to the deterioration of the Terms of trade for the producer countries

However it fast development of certain emergent countries (Popular republic of China, India…) create since the beginning of the 21e century an addition of the world demand which brings a hardening of the courses. In addition some of these natural resources, such as the Eau, which entered little the industrial costs in the past start more strongly to affect them because of dryings up or of expensive treatments of purification.

Certain raw materials, at the same time essential to the developed countries and whose layers are distributed in a nonhomogeneous way in the world, constitute a important Enjeu strategic. The Géopolitique of oil is the example more seizing, but one finds also cases specific for rare metals considered strategic for the advanced technology industries.

New raw materials

One compares sometimes to the raw materials (with the Saxon direction anglo of " commodities") products transformed used by industry but of banal use become and available into very large quantities (for example standard ethylene or electronic chips).

One sometimes also speaks about raw material “to the direction illustrated” for certain nonmaterial economic resources and nonnatural, for example information is then a raw material of the economy of the knowledge.

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