Advice to use American corn in ethanol production

16-Jun-2025 05:19 PM

New Delhi. In the ongoing discussions for a bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States, the US is pressing India to open up imports of corn, soybean, and ethanol. However, the Indian government remains cautious and is unlikely to make any quick decisions on this matter.

This is primarily because the US mainly produces genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean, whereas the production, import, trade, and use of GM crops are entirely banned in India—for both food and animal feed purposes.

However, this ban applies only to food and feed use. The government may not face the same regulatory hurdles in approving GM corn for use in non-food industrial applications.

Taking this into consideration, NITI Aayog has recommended the use of American GM corn exclusively for ethanol production.

A recent report by the think tank suggests that imports of GM corn be strictly limited to ethanol manufacturing. It also proposes a mandatory condition that any by-product from ethanol production—such as Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS)—must be entirely exported.

This approach aims to ensure that GM corn does not enter the Indian food chain, markets, or agricultural ecosystem, thus avoiding risks to public health and domestic agriculture.

India is aggressively working to scale up ethanol production to meet the rising targets for blending ethanol with petrol. This will require a large quantity of corn, and current domestic production may fall short.

While the import of US corn for ethanol could lead to some side effects, it also offers India a potential bargaining chip in trade negotiations with the US.

The US is also seeking access to the Indian market for its GM soybean exports, but such a move will be far more difficult for India to approve.

Similarly, allowing ethanol imports could pose a threat to India’s domestic ethanol industry, which has seen significant investment and growth in recent years.