It is difficult to achieve the target of 15 percent ethanol blending by the end of the current month
21-Oct-2024 03:34 PM
New Delhi. The target of 15 percent ethanol blending in petrol set by the Central Government for the current marketing season (November-October) of 2023-24 does not seem to be possible to achieve.
Industry critics had termed this target as quite ambitious in view of the circumstances because on one hand the government had allowed limited use of sugarcane for ethanol production for sugar mills and distilleries and secondly, it had also stopped the supply of rice from its stock to grain-based units.
It was fortunate that ethanol manufacturers tried to increase the production of ethanol by using maize, otherwise the situation could have been worse.
From November 2023 to December 2024, blending of 13.8 percent ethanol in petrol became possible. Only the month of October is left.
According to senior official sources, it is very difficult to achieve the target of 15 percent ethanol blending in the entire marketing season of 2023-24, but overall it may be possible to reach very close to the target. The government is committed to promoting biofuels.
According to a leading rating agency, ethanol blending can reach 14 percent because the pace of extraction of grains and especially maize and rice is increasing rapidly.
The ethanol production capacity of grain-based units has increased significantly and efforts are being made to use as much of it as possible.
The decline in ethanol production from sugarcane can be compensated to a large extent by grains. Broadly, it is estimated that petrol will have up to 14 percent ethanol blending in the 2023-24 marketing season, while the blending level will naturally increase in the 2024-25 season because on one hand, the uncontrolled use of sugarcane has been allowed in its manufacture and secondly,
the use of maize is also certain to increase. Apart from this, the government has decided to allocate 23 lakh tonnes of rice from its stock for ethanol manufacturers.