Primary commodities
Primary commodities are either extracted or captured directly from natural resources. They come from farms, mines or wells (e.g. crude oil).
Secondary commodities
Secondary commodities are produced from primary commodities to satisfy specific market needs (e.g. crude oil is refined to make gasoline).
Agricultural
Agricultural commodities include grains and oilseeds (corn, soybean, oats, rice, wheat), livestock (cattle, hogs, poultry), dairy (milk, butter, whey), lumber, textiles (cotton, wool) and softs (cocoa, coffee, sugar).
Energy
Primary energy commodities such as, natural gas, natural gas liquids, coal and renewables are refined and processed into many different petroleum products and fuels, from bitumen to gasoline, biodiesel and LNG (liquefied natural gas).
Metals & Minerals
The major base metals mined are iron ore, copper, aluminium, nickel, zinc and lead. Iron ore is left untreated, but mined copper, lead, nickel and zinc ores are turned into concentrates, while bauxite is turned into alumina. Iron ore, and are traded as primary commodities. Smelters process these into refined metals and useful alloys such as steel.