The Economist explains

What makes something a commodity?

Global commerce is underpinned by these unsexy items, but how do they attain that status?

By H.T.

To mark the publication of "Go Figure", a collection of The Economist’s explainers and daily charts, the editors of this blog solicited ideas on Facebook and Twitter. This week we publish five explainers suggested by our readers, who will each receive a copy of the book.

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