Kolhapur: Oil marketing companies (OMCs) have increased the procurement price of ethanol manufactured from maize by Rs5.79 per litre, making it Rs71.86 per litre.
The government has allowed ethanol production from maize, which is done by over 100 distilleries across India. Ethanol is mainly prepared from sugar cane, maize and broken rice. The dried by-product left after the conversion of sugar from maize to ethanol is used as good-quality cattle feed which has high-quality protein.
Chandan Shirgaonkar, president of All India Distilleries Association, said the decision would help members associated with AIDA achieve 500 crore litres of ethanol from grains by 2025-26.
“The decision has come at a crucial juncture and at the right time, for which the AIDA is grateful to the petroleum ministry and food and public distribution ministry. Currently, there is a demand of 292 crore litres of ethanol from maize. We will be able to achieve the target and ensure contribution to the ethanol blending programme of the central government.”
Shirgaonkar said in the last one year, the amount of ethanol produced from maize has doubled because of the demand. The producers would get a good price for their produce and achieve multiple goals of saving on oil import bills.
From one tonne of maize, 370-380 litres of ethanol is produced. Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Bihar are major maize-producing states.
Recently, the OMCs increased the procurement price of ethanol from C-heavy molasses, the by-product of sugar cane that has next to zero sugar content.
OMCs have been aiming for higher procurement of ethanol from other sources after the central government restricted production from sugar cane juice and syrup to ensure adequate availability of sugar in the market.
