Editing Economy of Germany (section)

===Primary===
{{See also|Agriculture in Germany}}
[[File:Agrivoltaics pilot plant at Heggelbach Farm in Germany 4.jpg|right|thumb|Germany is the EU´s second-largest agriculture goods exporter and fourth-largest worldwide<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvh_Nz_gkrg</ref>]]

In 2010 [[Agriculture in Germany|agriculture]], [[forestry]], and [[mining]] accounted for only 0.9% of Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) and employed only 2.4% of the population,<ref name="CIA"/> down from 4% in 1991. Agriculture is extremely productive, and Germany can cover 90% of its nutritional needs with domestic production. Germany is the third-largest agricultural producer in the European Union after France and Italy. Germany's principal agricultural products are potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, and cabbages.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany - Agricultural Production and Forest Cover {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/5-largest-agricultural-exporters-in-the-world-1276635/5/</ref>

Despite the country's high level of industrialisation, almost one-third of its territory is covered by forest.<ref>[http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Germany.htm ''31.7%&nbsp;—or about 11,076,000 hectares— of Germany is forested''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100221210403/http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Germany.htm |date=21 February 2010}}, mongabay.com, 2005.</ref> The forestry industry provides for about two-thirds of domestic consumption of wood and wood products, so Germany is a net importer of these items.
[[File:Garzweiler surface mine, October 2018, -02.jpg|left|thumb|[[Surface mining|Strip mining]] lignite at [[Garzweiler surface mine|Tagebau Garzweiler]] near [[Grevenbroich]], Germany]]
The German soil is relatively poor in raw materials. Only [[lignite]] (brown coal) and [[potash]] salt (''Kalisalz'') are available in significant quantities. However, the former GDR's [[Wismut (company)|Wismut]] mining company produced a total of 230,400 tonnes of uranium between 1947 and 1990 and made East Germany the fourth-largest producer of uranium ore worldwide (largest in USSR's sphere of control) at the time. Oil, natural gas, and other resources are, for the most part, imported from other countries.<ref name="Gürtler, Detlef 2010">Gürtler, Detlef: Wirtschaftsatlas Deutschland. Rowohlt Berlin, 2010.</ref>

Potash salt is mined in the centre of the country ([[Lower Saxony|Niedersachsen]], [[Saxony-Anhalt|Sachsen-Anhalt]], and [[Thuringia|Thüringen]]). The most important producer is [[K+S]] (formerly Kali und Salz AG).<ref name="Gürtler, Detlef 2010"/>

Germany's bituminous coal deposits were created more than 300 million years ago from swamps which extended from the present-day [[Southern England|South England]], over the Ruhr area to [[Poland]]. Lignite deposits developed similarly, but during a later period, about 66 million years ago. Because the wood is not yet completely transformed into coal, brown coal contains less energy than bituminous coal.<ref name="Gürtler, Detlef 2010"/>

[[Lignite]] is extracted in the extreme western and eastern parts of the country, mainly in [[North Rhine-Westphalia|Nordrhein-Westfalen]], [[Saxony|Sachsen]], and [[Brandenburg]]. Considerable amounts are burned in [[Coal-fired power station|coal plants]] near the mining areas, to produce electricity. Transporting lignite over far distances is not economically feasible, therefore the plants are located practically next to the extraction sites. [[Bituminous coal]] is mined in Nordrhein-Westfalen and Saarland. Most power plants burning bituminous coal operate on imported material, therefore the plants are located not only near to the mining sites, but throughout the country.<ref name="Gürtler, Detlef 2010"/>

In 2019, the country was the world's 3rd largest producer of [[selenium]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-selenium.pdf| title = USGS Selenium Production Statistics}}</ref> the world's 5th largest producer of potash,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-potash.pdf| title = USGS Potash Production Statistics}}</ref> the world's 5th largest producer of [[boron]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-boron.pdf| title = USGS Boron Production Statistics}}</ref> the world's 7th largest producer of [[Lime (material)|lime]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lime.pdf| title = USGS Lime Production Statistics}}</ref> the world's 13th largest producer of [[Fluorite|fluorspar]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-fluorspar.pdf| title = USGS Fluorspar Production Statistics}}</ref> the world's 14th largest producer of [[feldspar]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-feldspar.pdf| title = USGS Fluorspar Production Statistics}}</ref> the world's 17th largest producer of [[graphite]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-graphite.pdf| title = USGS Graphite Production Statistics}}</ref> the world's 18th largest producer of [[sulfur]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-sulfur.pdf| title = USGS Sulfur Production Statistics}}</ref> in addition to being the 4th largest world producer of [[salt]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-salt.pdf| title = USGS Salt Production Statistics}}</ref>