Stable Ethanol Price to Impact Sugar Industry

25-Sep-2025 03:41 PM

Mumbai. While the government has increased the price of ethanol produced from FCI rice by 3 percent to ₹60.32 per liter for the 2025-26 marketing season (November-October),

the prices of ethanol produced from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, B-heavy molasses, C-heavy molasses, maize, and other damaged grains have remained unchanged.

The increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane will increase the input costs of sugar and ethanol, while the absence of an increase in the selling price could reduce the margins of millers and distillers.

Meanwhile, oil marketing companies (OMCs) have invited tenders for 1,050 crore liters of ethanol for supply in the 2025-26 season.

The selling price of ethanol produced from rice procured from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been increased from ₹58.50 per liter for the 2024-25 season to ₹60.32 per liter for the 2025-26 season.

This is intended to encourage distillers to purchase greater quantities of government-sourced rice. The reserve price for government-sourced rice has also been increased from ₹22.50 per kg to ₹23.20 per kg for distillers.

OMCs have finalized ethanol supply schedules, with 1 billion liters to be supplied in November 2025 and 2 billion liters in December 2025 and January 2026.

Quarterly supply quotas have been set for the remaining ethanol. Under this, 280 crore litres of ethanol will be supplied in February-April, 250 crore litres in May-July and 220 crore litres in the quarter of August-October 2025.