OMCs allocate 8.37 billion liters of ethanol

22-Oct-2024 07:52 PM

New Delhi. Although the domestic industry offered to supply 970 crore (9.70 billion) liters of ethanol to public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) for the 2024-25 marketing season, only 837 crore (8.37 billion) liters have been allocated by OMCs, which is slightly less than the estimates of distillers.

This quantity is almost equivalent to blending 15 percent ethanol in petrol. India consumes about 55 billion liters of gasoline annually.

Since 916 crore liters of ethanol will be required for blending, some more tenders may be issued by OMCs in the coming time to bridge the gap. The government has set a target of blending 20 percent ethanol in petrol.

According to a senior official of a leading sugar company, a quota of 247 crore liters of ethanol supply has been allocated for the first quarter of the 2024-25 marketing season (November-October), 219 crore liters for the second quarter, 210 crore liters for the third quarter and 161 crore liters for the fourth quarter.

In this, the maximum 431 crore liters of ethanol will be produced from maize, while 189 crore liters will be produced from sugarcane juice, 114 crore liters from B heavy molasses and 94 crore liters from damaged food grains. The share of ethanol produced from C heavy molasses will be 9 crore liters.

A total of 37 lakh tons of sugar will be required, including 28 lakh tons and 9 lakh tons respectively, for the production of ethanol from sugarcane juice and B heavy molasses.

Similarly, 113 lakh tons of maize will be required to produce 431 crore liters of ethanol. Apart from this, 94 crore litres can be produced from 2.10 lakh tonnes of rice.