With India on track to achieve 20% ethanol blending with petrol, the Food Ministry has
requested NITI Aayog to draft a road map for increasing the blend to 25%, said Food
Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday. As of the 2023-24 Ethanol Supply Year, which
concludes in October, the country has reached an average of nearly 14% ethanol-petrol
blending.
Joshi also mentioned that the government is reviewing demands from the domestic sugar
industry, which include raising the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar (currently Rs 31
per kg), revising ethanol procurement prices for oil marketing companies (OMCs), and
reopening sugar exports.
He added that the government is assessing sugar production for the upcoming 2024-25 season
before making any export decisions. In the 2022-23 season, India allowed sugar exports
capped at 6.4 million tonnes, following a record 11 million tonnes the previous year.
Joshi expressed confidence in the 2024-25 sugar production outlook, thanks to favorable
monsoons. Ethanol prices, set by the government, have remained unchanged since 2022-23,
with rates for ethanol from cane juice at Rs 65.61 per litre, and ethanol from B-Heavy and
C-Heavy molasses at Rs 60.73 and Rs 56.28 per litre, respectively.
At the same conference, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra noted that with strong monsoon
rains, the 2024-25 sugarcane crop looks promising. He highlighted that sugarcane arrears in
the 2023-24 season had hit an all-time low, with over 99% of dues settled. Chopra also noted
the removal of restrictions on producing ethanol from B-Heavy molasses and sugarcane juice,
reiterating that these measures were always meant to be temporary.
Sugar Industry Opposes Byproduct Controls, Advocates for Exports
The sugar industry has raised objections to proposed amendments to the 1966 Sugar Control
Order, particularly the inclusion of by-products like molasses. Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy
Manufacturers Association (ISMA) President M Prabhakar Rao expressed concerns that the
amendments suggest a return to stricter controls.
ISMA also pushed for the export of 2-2.5 million tonnes of sugar in the 2024-25 season,
which starts next month. ISMA Vice President Gautam Goel mentioned that initial
production estimates for 2024-25 were 33.3 million tonnes, slightly lower than this year, but
strong rains may result in an upward revision in the coming months.
