Meaning & use
commodity crops
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Meaning
nounplural
Crops grown in large amounts mainly to be sold and traded, not for the farmer's own use.
Grammar: Plural noun; takes a plural verb: 'Commodity crops are grown for export.' The singular is 'commodity crop'.
Patterns
- grow commodity crops
- commodity crops such as ...
- prices of commodity crops
Many farmers in the region switched from vegetables to commodity crops like corn and soybeans.
Global prices for commodity crops such as wheat and cotton rose sharply last year.
Because commodity crops are traded on world markets, their prices can change quickly.
Word forms
| singular | commodity crop |
|---|
Common combinations
- grow commodity crops
- They grow commodity crops on most of their land and keep only a small garden for themselves.
- commodity crop prices
- Commodity crop prices fell after a record harvest.
- major commodity crops
- Corn, wheat, and rice are major commodity crops around the world.
- trade in commodity crops
- The country's economy depends heavily on trade in commodity crops.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cash crops
- Very close in meaning, but 'cash crops' often emphasizes that the crop is sold for money, and can include smaller-scale or specialty crops, while 'commodity crops' stresses large-scale trading of standard goods.
- staple crops
- Different: staple crops are basic foods that people eat regularly, whether sold or not, whereas commodity crops are defined mainly by being traded.
Word family
Commonly confused: commodity crops or commodities?
commodity crops vs commodities
This is just the plural of 'commodity'. 'Commodity crops' is a specific farming term, while 'commodities' can mean any traded raw materials, such as oil or metals.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'commodity crops' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 1 fits because commodity crops are grown in large amounts to be sold and traded. Option 0 is wrong because crops grown only for the family are not commodity crops. Option 2 is wrong because the phrase is plural and does not take 'a'. Option 3 is wrong because commodity crops are plants, not machines.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commodity crops”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.