Corn, rice, and sugar vie for ethanol demand

15-Nov-2025 12:46 PM

New Delhi. Until three to four years ago, ethanol production in the country was primarily from sugarcane components and damaged grains. However, since then, production from government-owned rice and corn has increased.

Now, the situation is such that ethanol is being produced from grains rather than sugarcane, and petroleum companies are also giving special priority to the purchase of grain-derived ethanol. This has increased the concerns and difficulties of the sugar industry.

According to available data, during the 2024-25 marketing season (November-October), oil marketing companies received a total of 1002.99 crore liters of ethanol, of which 686.99 crore liters

were from grain-derived ethanol and 316 crore liters from sugarcane-derived ethanol. The target of blending 20 percent ethanol in petrol was achieved in 2025, which was to be achieved by 2030.

For the current marketing season 2025-26, oil marketing companies have allocated quotas for the supply of approximately 1048 crore liters of ethanol.

This includes the highest quota of 478.90 crore liters for corn-based ethanol, 233.30 crore liters for rice-based ethanol from the Food Corporation of India, 165.90 crore liters for sugarcane juice-based ethanol,

110.50 crore liters for B-heavy molasses-based ethanol, 47.60 crore liters for damaged grain-based ethanol, and 12.20 crore liters for C-heavy molasses-based ethanol.

These figures clearly indicate that oil marketing companies are rapidly increasing their dependence on corn-based ethanol procurement.