Govt okays use of B-heavy molasses inventory at sugar mills for ethanol manufacturing

The federal government has allowed using the B-heavy molasses (BHM) mendacity with sugar mills to make ethanol, which can see oil advertising corporations (OMCs) reallocating ethanol quota to distilleries within the subsequent 2-3 days. The transfer won’t have an effect on sugar availability as recent B-heavy molasses won’t be used for ethanol manufacturing, official sources stated.

“Solely the BHM inventory already with sugar mills till March 31 is to be transformed,” an official supply stated. The federal government hopes to generate an extra 60 crore litres of ethanol to assist meet the focused 15 per cent ethanol mixing with petrol for the 2023-24 ethanol provide yr (November-October), in opposition to 12 per cent achieved up to now.

Trade knowledge exhibits that OMCs have focused buy of 235 crore litres of ethanol from sugar-based distilleries and 166 crore litres from grain-based vegetation. Almost 130 crore litres of ethanol have been provided by sugar-based distilleries and 100 crore litres by grain-based vegetation.

Based on the fortnightly manufacturing replace from the Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Producers Affiliation (ISMA) on April 16, home sugar output touched 310.93 lakh tonnes (lt) till April 15, from October 1, 2023, as in opposition to 312.38 lt within the year-ago interval. This excludes the amount diverted to ethanol manufacturing.

ISMA is hopeful of reaching 320 lt sugar manufacturing this yr (excluding diversion to ethanol), in response to its director common, Deepak Ballani.