primary industry
noun
ECONOMICS,PRODUCTIONukus[C]
animportantor the mostimportantindustryin acountryorarea:
The state'sprimaryindustryistourism.
[CorU]
anindustrythatproducesenergyorbasicmaterials, such ascoal,oil,metals,crops, etc., or theseindustriesconsideredas agroup:
Developingcountriesoften have ahigherproportionoftheirworkforceinvolvedinprimaryindustriesthandevelopedcountries.
See also
primary sector
Compare
secondary industry
tertiary industry