India allows ethanol production from cane juice (updated)

E I D-Parry (India)

29/08/2024 16:02

(Adds details, comments from industry officials)
    By Rajendra Jadhav
       MUMBAI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - India will allow sugar mills
to use cane juice or syrup to produce ethanol in the new
marketing year starting Nov. 1, the government said in a
notification on Thursday.
        The world's second-biggest sugar producer imposed
restrictions on diverting sugar for ethanol production in
December 2023 to increase sugar output after cane crop was hit
by below-average monsoon rains.    
    In the new season, distilleries can also use B-heavy
molasses, a byproduct with higher sucrose levels, for ethanol
production, the government said in the notification.
    Around 750,000 metric tons of B-heavy molasses are lying in
stock with mills after the government restricted ethanol
production from this feedstock last year, said Prakash
Naiknavare, managing director of the National Federation of
Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd.
    "Now that the restriction is lifted, they can use these
stocks," Naiknavare said.
    Indian sugar mills such as E.I.D.-Parry  EIDP.NS , Balrampur
Chini Mills  BACH.NS , Shree Renuka  SRES.NS , Bajaj Hindusthan
 BJHN.NS , and Dwarikesh Sugar  DWAR.NS  have increased their
ethanol production capacity in the last few years.
    The south Asian country also allowed distilleries to
purchase up to 2.3 million metric tons of rice from the
state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) for ethanol
production, the government said in a separate notification.
    "The permission to utilise FCI rice as a feedstock will
enhance ethanol production from dual-feed distilleries," said
Vijay Nirani, managing director of TruAlt Bioenergy Ltd.
    The two policy changes will not only help increase ethanol
blending in gasoline but also help mills and distilleries make
timely cane payments to millions of farmers, Nirani said.
    India aims to increase ethanol production to blend 20%
ethanol into gasoline by 2025-26, from around 13% now.

 (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and
Devika Syamnath)
 ((rajendra.jadhav@thomsonreuters.com; +91-22-68414378 ; Reuters
Messaging: rajendra.jadhav.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))