Whilst we have synthetic or manmade rubber produced from petroleum, around one-quarter of the world's rubber comes from a natural source. Natural rubber is a vital agricultural product or commodity which is used in the manufacture of a wide range of products. Rubber plays a major role in the socio-economic fabric of many developing countries. Over 20 million families are dependent on rubber cultivation for their basic source of livelihood.

Natural rubber industry
The natural rubber industry has developed during the last 100 years, inspite of emergence of manmade rubber. The development of the industry has relied upon well-targeted research and development in various fields like agronomic science, breeding to raise productivity, and physics, chemistry and technology to support and expand a growing plethora of applications.