Branches or stages of Production:

Primary Production

This is the first stage of production and is called the extractive stage. In this stage, raw materials are extracted from the surface of the earth or from the sea. Workers are employed in mining, fishing, quarrying, forestry and farming. In this stage the raw materials are unusable and have to be sent to the manufacturing industries to be changed in to goods that can be used.

Secondary Production

In this stage, the raw materials are transformed into semi-finished or finished products. The goods are made ready for sale to the final consumers in this stage. Textile industry, building and construction industry, chemical industry, etc, are examples of the manufacturing work carried out in this stage.

 

Tertiary Production

The transfer of goods from the factories to the final consumers is the work that is carried out in the tertiary stage. In this stage there are many activities which are broadly divided in to two:

-          Commercial Services: This includes workers in communications, finance, insurance, wholesaling and retailing. These workers are involved in getting the goods to the final consumer.

-          Direct Services: People in this group work to provide a direct service rather than delivering goods to the consumers. Teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, civil servants, policemen, etc, are examples of people providing direct services.