look news india
The government has made a big change regarding making ethanol from corn. Now ethanol producers will get supply of corn at fixed rates from cooperative agencies. On one hand, this change will ensure uninterrupted production of ethanol, on the other hand it will help in ensuring the availability of sugar in the market.
The central government has made this change
According to the information, the government has allowed cooperative agency NAFED and National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) to supply maize at Rs 2,291 per quintal for ethanol production this year. Both the cooperative agencies will purchase maize at a minimum support price of Rs 2,090 per quintal during the crop year 2023-24 and supply it to ethanol producers at Rs 2,291 per quintal.
Currently, most ethanol is produced from sugarcane.
At present, sugarcane in the country is mainly used to make ethanol. Sugar is also made from sugarcane. Recently the price of sugar had increased. The main reason for this was less supply of sugar than the demand in the market. After which the government instructed sugar mills not to use sugarcane in making ethanol.
Fear of decline in sugar production
The country's sugar production is likely to decline during the marketing year 2023-24 (October 2023 to September 2024). In such a situation, the government is taking precautionary measures. To ensure adequate availability of sugarcane for sugar production, the government is promoting maize as an alternative. This is the reason why the government has made recent changes in the supply of maize.
Oil companies have increased their purchase rates
The country's maize production is expected to be 22.48 million tonnes during July 2023 to June 2024 i.e. crop year 2023-24. The Agriculture Ministry has given this figure in its first advance estimate. At the same time, oil companies have increased the purchase rate of corn-based ethanol to Rs 5.79 per liter.