54% of the rice quota allocated for ethanol production sold

14-Oct-2025 04:15 PM

New Delhi. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has so far managed to sell only 54% of its total rice quota for ethanol production during the current 2024-25 ethanol marketing season (November-October),

with the season set to end at the end of this month. This clearly indicates that it is not achieving much success in increasing the use of government surplus rice stocks for biofuel production.

It is noteworthy that the government allocated a total of 5.2 million tons of rice for ethanol production for the current marketing season, of which only approximately 2.8 million tons, or 54%, has been sold. Rice is provided to ethanol producers at a subsidized price.

The central government is attempting to increase the use of rice in ethanol production to clear its large surplus stocks. Not only is there a record stock of rice in the central pool, but it is also expected to continue increasing in the coming months.

However, the pace of rice procurement is slow, with only two weeks remaining before the end of the 2024-25 marketing season. Food Corporation officials believe that 2.9 million tons of rice could be sold for ethanol production during the entire 2024-25 marketing season.

According to analysts, the slow pace of rice procurement is due to procedural delays. Firstly, the rice allocation announcement was delayed, and secondly, the oil marketing companies issued allocation letters for ethanol slowly.

This did not give distillers enough time to offload their rice stocks. According to analysts, rice procurement may improve in the new marketing season starting in November 2025.

Another notable feature is that distillers prefer to use corn for ethanol production over rice, as it proves to be more profitable.

But the government has implemented a rule that the share of rice-based ethanol in grain-based ethanol should not be less than 40 percent, hence its use will continue regularly.