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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft commodity</span></span>
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<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><p><b>Soft commodities</b>, or <b>softs</b>,<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> are <a href="Commodity" title="Commodity">commodities</a> such as <a href="Coffee" title="Coffee">coffee</a>, <a href="Cocoa_bean" title="Cocoa bean">cocoa</a>, <a href="Sugar" title="Sugar">sugar</a>, <a href="Maize" title="Maize">corn</a>, <a href="Wheat" title="Wheat">wheat</a>, <a href="Soybean" title="Soybean">soybean</a>, <a href="Fruit" title="Fruit">fruit</a> and <a href="Livestock" title="Livestock">livestock</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Maul2011p8_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Maul2011p8-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The term generally refers to <a href="Commodities" class="mw-redirect" title="Commodities">commodities</a> that are grown, rather than mined; the latter (such as oil, copper and gold) are known as <a href="Hard_commodity" class="mw-redirect" title="Hard commodity">hard commodities</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Maul2011p8_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Maul2011p8-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>Soft commodities play a major part in the <a href="Futures_market" class="mw-redirect" title="Futures market">futures market</a>. They are used by <a href="Farmer" title="Farmer">farmers</a> wishing to lock-in the future prices of their <a href="Crop" title="Crop">crops</a>, by commercial purchasers of the products, and by speculative investors seeking a profit. The adjective "soft" is occasionally only applied to products that are classified as largely tropical, such coffee, chocolate, sugar, cotton, and orange juice.
</p><p>Soft commodities have been known to adopt a <a href="Backwardation" class="mw-redirect" title="Backwardation">backwardation</a> trend until the late 1990s when futures were actively traded. Speculation and investment requirements later shaped the common <a href="Contango" title="Contango">contango</a> trend.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Commodification" title="Commodification">Commodification</a></li>
<li><a href="Commodity_status_of_animals" title="Commodity status of animals">Commodity status of animals</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Scott Barrie, Lita Epstein <i>The Complete Idiot's Guide to Options and Futures</i> 2006 Page 49
"The Food and Fiber futures, also known as the Softs, are a hodgepodge of commodities ranging from Coffee to Cocoa, and Sugar to Orange Juice."</span>
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<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Carley Garner <i>Trading Commodities, Commodity Options and Currencies</i> 0133091325 - 2012 "Many of the softs are grown in third-world countries, and the data is far less reliable than that published by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) on domestically produced commodities. The softs are among the most complicated"</span>
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<li id="cite_note-Maul2011p8-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Maul2011p8_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Maul2011p8_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Patrick Maul, <i>Investing in Commodities</i>, diplom.de, 2011, p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=skRkAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA8">8</a>, table c.</span>
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<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">
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</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/softcommodity.asp#axzz2EGf9ZeC2">"Soft Commodity Definition"</a>. Investopedia. 2009-02-15<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2012-12-06</span></span>.</cite></span>
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