Rubber world

On the basis of data collected by the International Rubber Study Group, global rubber consumption approached 26 million tons in 2011 - representing an increase of 4.1% over 2010 - subdivided into approximately 11 million tons of natural rubber and 15 of synthetic rubber.
China is by far the largest consumer of elastomers, with 8.3 million tons, albeit reflecting rather modest annual growth (+2.2%), but it is also the foremost producer of synthetic rubber with 3.5 million tons produced in 2011, representing an impressive increase of 12.6% over the previous year. Regarding natural rubber, Thailand provided approximately a third of world production. Italy used 115,000 tons of natural and 221,000 tons of synthetic rubber, recording growth of 4.8% and 9.1%, respectively, over 2010 levels.