cash crop

American  

[kash krop] / ˈkæʃ ˈkrɒp /

noun

1. any crop that is considered easily marketable, as wheat or cotton.

2. a crop for direct sale in a market, as distinguished from a crop for use as livestock feed or for other purposes.

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cash crop British  

noun

1. a crop grown for sale rather than for subsistence

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Etymology

Origin of cash crop

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

Wong recalls how farmers cut down durian trees to make room for oil palms, the country's main cash crop, during an economic downturn in the 1990s.

From BBC

Canadian officials traveled to China last year to persuade Beijing to remove hefty tariffs on Canadian canola, or rapeseed, which is a major cash crop for farmers in western Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal

"As cardamom is the queen of spices and a cash crop lot of people have started get in to cultivation," she says.

From BBC

Today, the Salinas Valley’s biggest cash crop is strawberries, accounting for more than 20% of Monterey County’s $4.9-billion annual production value from agriculture.

From Los Angeles Times

Solanum elaeagnifolium -- also known as silverleaf nightshade -- can be found from south Texas to South Africa and Greece, infesting fields and soaking up valuable nutrients intended for cash crops.

From Science Daily