OMCs hike ethanol procurement prices by Rs 6.87/litre: Oil ministry

State-run oil marketing companies bumped up the procurement price of ethanol made from C heavy molasses by Rs 6.87 per litre for the 2023-24 supply season, in a bid to to maximize #ethanol production and improve its availability for blending it with petrol.

The latest price hike takes the price to Rs 56.28 per litre, higher than the previous season's Rs 49.41 per litre announced last year. The move come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government aims to achieve 20% blending of ethanol in petrol by 2025 from the present levels of 10%.

C molasses, a by product of sugar factory and its utilization for ethanol production, is an effective way to promote green economy, ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas said on December 29.

India, which is the fifth-largest producer of ethanol in the world, is pushing for the blending of ethanol — which can be done domestically — in petrol, to become self-reliant in energy as the country imports nearly 85 percent of its oil needs.

C-heavy molasses accounted for 1% of ethanol production last ESY

During ESY 2022-23, OMCs floated tender for the procurement of 599.7 crore litres of ethanol, against which Letters of Intent (LoIs) for 567 crore litres were issued. While sugarcane juice accounted for 25 percent of the total ethanol production, B-heavy molasses accounted for 45 percent, C-heavy molasses accounted for 1 percent and foodgrains accounted for 29 percent.

According to sources, OMCs will be looking to procure 5.62 billion litres of ethanol, out of which 47.86 percent is expected to come from B and C-heavy molasses, while the rest will come from grains. India's sugar production in ESY 2023-24 is estimated to be around 29 Million Tonnes (MT), down from 33 MT produced in ESY 2022-23.

Source:www.moneycontrol.com/www.energywatch.in

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