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Production of citric acid in the United States from 1914 to 1935 is shown in Table 11. The latter figures show the total production of citric acid for sale which in- cludes that manufactured from domestic and imported cal- cium citrate, imported concentrated lemon juice, and that produced from sugar by fermentation. Separate production figures for the fermentation citric acid are not available since the manufacture is limited to one company. The rapid increase in acid production in 1923 and 1925 was not entirely due to our increased output of citrus materials and production of fermentation acid; during this time large quantities of concentrated lemon juice were imported for acid manufacture, since this item remained duty-free under the Tariff Act of 1922. The import figures shown in Table I do not include shipments of concentrated lemon juice. The 1929 revision of the Tariff Act imposes a duty of 5 cents per pound on such concentrated juices unfit for beverage pur- poses so that these imports are now negligible.
The first successful commercial development of the fermen- tation citric acid process was achieved in the United States and as later events proved it came at an opportyne time. Although some acid was probably produced by this method in the United States as early as 1919, production in amounts sufficient to meet an appreciable portion of the domestic demand did not occur until 1923. In 1927 the Italian Government, in order to encourage greater home production of citric acid, placed an embargo on exports of calcium citrate to all manufacturers outside of Italy. The principal citric acid producing countries at that time, England, France, and the United States, were suddenly cut off from supplies of raw material; if it had not been for the development of the new process, consumers in this country would have been placed in a difficult situation and forced to pay much higher prices for citric acid. Despite the fact that no calcium citrate was imported during 1928 and 1929, our domestic production of citric acid rose to over 10,000,000 pounds in 1929. Pro- duction of the natural product during this year probably did not exceed 3,500,000 pounds, so that the fermentation in- dustry furnished about two-thirds of the total or approxi- mately 7,000,000 pounds. The United States thus became independent of foreign citrate supplies and, for a few years after 1927, exported large quantities of calcium citrate, chiefly to England (44). In 1933 exports of calcium citrate totaled 8,035,957 pounds ($496,521) of which 8,025,467 pounds ($496,083) were shipped to England. Exports since 1935 have fallen off sharply, largely because of the develop- ment of the fermentation process in England, our increased domestic consumption, and the International Citric Acid agreement between Italy, England, France, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. This agreement which is valid until 1939 was established to regulate exports and strengthen prices and, according to consular reports, has successfully achieved its objectives. The details of the pact are not generally known, but Italy is reported to have an export quota of 38 per cent of the total figure set for exports. The figures in Table I1 show production of citric acid for sale in this country only, so that the decreased production in 1931 and 1933 is only apparent, because during these years large amounts of the fermentation acid produced were converted to calcium citrate for export. European Situation since 1928 The Italian citric acid industry was reorganized entirely during 1928 in order to bring about more satisfactory conditions and to increase home production of citric acid (45, 48)- A common sales organization, known as the C. I. F. A. C. (Consorzio Italian0 Fabbriche Acido Citrica), was formed to control production and sales. Under the agreement citric acid manufacture was centered under two concerns, the Arenella at Palermo and the Sada-Bosurgi at Messina. The agreement, likewise, covered the dis- tribution of calcium citrate, controlled by the Camera Agru- maria of Messina. The C. I. F. A. C. obtained first call on all supplies of the raw material held by the Camera Agrumaria, and only when its needs were satisfied was any surplus ex- ported. Italian exports of citric acid thus rose to an all- time high in 1928 as a result of increased production but declined rapidly in the following years because of increased foreign competition resulting from the development of the fermentation process in the United States and in Europe. Table I11 shows Italian production and exports of citric acid and calcium citrate for the period 1920-36. For a number of reasons the Italian citric acid industry is at present in a state of flux. The introduction of improved methods of -production has been deferred; and because of a recent crop shortage which necessitated imports of biological calcium citrate, there have been reports that manufacture of fermen- tation acid would be undertaken. The severe competition introduced by commercial development of the fermentation process may spell the eventual doom of the natural citric acid industry in Italy. The sharp curtailment of exports of calcium citrate from Italy as a result of the 1928 reorganization agreement seemed to stimulate efforts in other countries in the development of the fermentation process. Perhaps this would have taken place regardless of the Italian situation, but the rapid develop- ment in the United States, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Great Britain about this time was undoubtedly influenced a great deal by the rigid control of raw material supplies by Italy. ITALY. TABLE 111. ITALIAN PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS OF CITRIC ACID AND CALCIUM CITRATEO -Calcium Citrate- -- Citric Acid- Year Production Exports Production Exports Thousands of pounds 7 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1935 1936 12,449 16,733 15,789 11,003 10,018 b b b b 19,350 19,879 8,322 10,132 3,587 5,036 1,455 4,150 2,660 2,200 3847 4158 0063 4299 3371 3479 4257 4544 7358 400.5 Q Production figures are for the Italian calcium citrate season, Nov. 1 to b Figures not available. Oat. 30. Export figures are for the calendar year. BELGIUM. One of the early attempts to produce citric acid was made at Tirlemont, Belgium, in 1914, but until 1927 the amount of acid produced in this plant was insignifi- cant. The firm, LaCitrique Belge S. A., is a member of the European citric acid cartel. Citric acid was not produced in quantities sufficient to become a factor in export trade until 1927. The present production capacity is not known, but in 1931 it was estimated at 1,650,000 pounds, and 1933 over 2,000,000 pounds were exported. Export data are shown in Table IV. It has been reported (45) that the Italian producer, Arenella, owns an 80 per cent interest in the Tirlemont Company. MARCH, 1938 INDUSTRIAL AND ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY 257 GERMANY. Production of citric acid in Germany is cen- tered in two firms, C. K. Boehringer & Soehne G. m. b. H. at Nieder-Ingelheim am Rhein, and Chemische Fabrik J. A. Benclriser G. m. b. H. at Ludwigshafen am Rhein. According to recent consular reports, neither of these firms manufactures citric acid by fermentation. The entire production of acid is due to conversion of imported biological and natural calciurn citrate. Imports of citric acid declined from 770 metric tons in 1932 to 119 in 1935; exports rose from 16 metric tons in 1933 to 204 in 1934, but declined to 75 in 1935. Germany does not participate directly in the European citric acid cartel. TABLE IV. EUROPEAN EXPORTS OF CITRIC ACID 1927 1929 1931 1933 1935 7 Metric tons > Italy 1908 2803 1821 1960 16iO England 439 1069 1391 1711 Belgium 26 20 874 1217 a None None 370 518 577 Czechoslovakia Germany France 229 93 130 (1 a Figures not available. a 39 17 75 l6 a CZECHOSLOVAKIA. Production of citric acid from molasses by fermentation in Czechoslovakia was started in 1930. According to reports of the Department of Commerce (45), the production capacity of the original plant was 240 metric tons annually, but this has increased rapidly. In 1936 pro- duction totaled 911 metric tons or approximately 2,000,000 pounds; 729 metric tons were exported. Imports of citric acid which totaled 44 metric tons in 1929 are now negligible. The sole producer of citric acid in