Private sector activities

The activities of industry can be divided into stages - primary, secondary and tertiary production. These stages form the chain of production and provide consumers with the finished goods.

Primary production

This involves acquiring raw materials. For example, metals and coal have to be mined; oil drilled from the ground; rubber tapped from trees; foodstuffs farmed, and fish trawled. This is sometimes known as extractive production [Extractive production: Another term for primary production - farming, mining, fishing etc. ].

Secondary production

Is the manufacturing and assembly process. This involves converting raw materials into components, eg making plastics from oil, and assembling the product, eg building houses, bridges and roads.

Tertiary production

This refers to the commercial services [Commercial service: Support services for industry, eg banking. ] that support the production and distribution process, eg insurance, transport, advertising, warehousing and retail, teaching and health care.