Some relief to the sugar industry

31-Aug-2024 10:49 AM

The central government has decided to give some relief to the sugar industry on the ethanol production front, under which millers and distillers have been allowed free use of sugarcane juice and syrup and B-heavy molasses and C-heavy molasses in the production of ethanol.

This will increase the domestic production of ethanol during the marketing season 2024-25 (November-October) and will help in achieving the target of its blending in petrol.

In fact, during the current year, as compared to last year, there has been an increase of about 60 thousand hectares in the sugarcane sowing area at the national level and its area has increased from 57.10 lakh hectares to around 57.70 lakh hectares.

This is the government data. Similarly, this time the condition of the southwest monsoon has been better than last year and most of the major sugarcane producing states of the country are receiving good rains.

In August last year, due to the inactivity of monsoon, there was a severe drought in many parts of the country, which posed a serious threat to the sugarcane crop along with other commodities.

In view of this, the government had to take some important decisions in a hurry, which included banning the commercial export of sugar and allowing the use of limited quantity of sugar in ethanol production.

The objective of these measures was to maintain the supply-availability situation of sugar in the domestic sector, in which the government also succeeded to a great extent. Now the quantitative control imposed on the use of sugar in ethanol production has been withdrawn, due to which millers and distillers have been allowed to use it as per their need.

This will give some relief to the industry. But indirectly this decision also indicates that the government is not in the mood to open the export of sugar.

If the use of sugarcane increases in ethanol production, then it will naturally affect the production of sugar and the outstanding surplus stock will decrease.

The industry is urging the government to allow export of at least 30 lakh tonnes of sugar in the upcoming marketing season.

It claims that this will not affect the supply and availability of sugar in the domestic sector nor will there be any increase in prices.