Agricultural and forestry resources have been processed for industrial uses for centuries. They have gained renewed attention every time access to fossil feedstocks was disturbed. The recent drive towards the use of renewable raw materials for commodity production appears to be sustained. The main drivers of this development are resource cost and supply security, environmental issues and economic development of rural areas. Emphasis on the three drivers differs from country to country. For private businesses, the use of renewable raw materials must be profitable. Otherwise investments and commercial operations will not be sustainable. Researching the economics of renewable raw materials is therefore an essential task during the ongoing resource shift in commodities production.