Rubber, natural Italy

The requirements in 1951 (31) for the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands were 1,005,804 tons of natural rubber and 761,614 tons of synthetics. On the basis of consumption the United States required 41.7% natural, Canada 65.4, United Kingdom 98.6, France 93.3, and Netherlands 98.3 on the basis of importations, Belgium and Luxemburg needed 94.1% natural, Denmark 97.8, Greece 92.4, Italy 93.6, Norway 95.9, Portugal 98.2, and Turkey 100.0. 

The United Kingdom has, at present, the largest petroleum chemicals industry outside America. It is based wholly on imported liquid fractions and directed very largely to manufacture and use of olefins. The position in France is similar, but in Italy, with new natural gas discoveries and no coal, manufacture of chemicals from methane is of equal importance. Canada can hardly be termed the most recent entrant to this field, as she participated in the manufacture of synthetic rubber from petroleum during and since the second world war. The postwar developments so far have, however, been on the European pattern. 

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