Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said the government will notify new rules on ethanol output from sugar, according to news agency Bloomberg on Friday, December 15, while also adding that the Centre will review the sugarcane supply situation in a month or two. The report also said the government will allow mills to divert 1.7 million tons of sugar to make ethanol.
Chopra’s statement comes days after the Centre’s December 7 directive to stop the use of sugarcane juice and sugar syrup for ethanol production in the 2023–24 supply year, which started this month, to maintain adequate sugar availability for domestic consumption and to keep prices under check. However, it has allowed the use of 'B-molasses', a cane by-product, for ethanol production in 2023–24.
Erratic rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka have raised concerns about this year's sugar output, resulting in the government's directive to sugar mills. The country's sugar output is likely to decline to 32.3–33 million tonnes in the 2023–24 season (October–September), as against 37.3 million tonnes in the previous season, as per the food ministry estimate.
Ethanol, a colourless liquid, is blended with fuel as part of the government's initiative to reduce reliance on crude oil imports.
Meanwhile, industry body Indian Sugar Mills' Association (ISMA) on Friday said the "sudden" ban on the use of cane juice for ethanol would hurt the capacity utilisation of mills, putting at "risk" their ₹15,000 crore investment in the last three years to set up plants for green fuel, news agency Press Trust of India said in a report. It also fears that there could be a delay in payments to sugarcane farmers.
First Published: Dec 15, 2023 8:15 PM IST
