Ethanol sector not competing for maize with any sector, says distillers’ association
AIDA said India’s ethanol industry is building a diversified feedstock base rather than competing directly with maize users. By August-end, maize, surplus FCI rice and damaged grains supplied 624 crore litres, nearly 70% of total ethanol supplied, strengthening production resilience.
The ethanol industry is not competing with any specific sector for maize but is utilsing the hardy cereal to create value for Indian agricultural resources. It is also intended to support energy security and rural value chains, All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) deputy director-general (DDG) Bharati Balaji has said.
“Current data also show that ethanol is drawing from a diversified basket that includes surplus FCI (Food Corporation of India) rice, damaged foodgrains and sugar-based feedstocks. Going forward, continued improvement in maize productivity, supply-chain efficiency, availability of alternative feedstocks and better alignment between agricultural output and industrial demand can help ensure that different end-use sectors are adequately supported,” she told businessline in an email interview.
Maize has become an important feedstock for ethanol, and its growing use reflects the expansion of India’s domestic biofuel ecosystem. At the same time, maize serves multiple sectors, including food, feed and industrial applications, so price movements are influenced by the overall balance between production, consumption, stocks, logistics and market demand, said the AIDA DDG.
Rising contribution
The rising contribution of maize, surplus FCI rice and damaged food grains is significant because it demonstrates how India’s ethanol industry is evolving into a genuinely multi-feedstock ecosystem, rather than being dependent on any single agricultural resource, she said.
“By August-end, maize contributed around 345 crore litres, surplus FCI rice around 214 crore litres, and damaged food grains around 64 crore litres of ethanol. These volumes clearly demonstrate that alternative feedstocks are no longer marginal sources; they are becoming an important part of India’s overall ethanol supply chain,” said Balaji.
If the availability of one feedstock is constrained in a particular season or region, other feedstocks can help maintain continuity of ethanol production. “Maize is particularly important because it provides an additional agricultural pathway for ethanol production and can complement other feedstocks,” she said.
FCI rice utility
Similarly, surplus FCI rice provides a mechanism to productively utilise available foodgrain stocks, while damaged or non-food-grade grains that are unsuitable for human consumption can be diverted to industrial ethanol production. “This creates value from resources that may otherwise have limited alternative utilisation,” said the AIDA DDG.
The multi-feedstock flexibility is one of the key strengths of India’s ethanol programme. It allows the industry to adapt to changing agricultural conditions, improve the utilisation of domestic resources and strengthen the reliability of ethanol availability, she said, adding that maize, surplus FCI rice and damaged food grains are integral to building a resilient, flexible and future-ready Indian ethanol ecosystem.
“The focus should remain on maintaining this diversified feedstock base and ensuring efficient coordination between procurement, production and supply,” she said.
70% of supplies
The contribution of 624 crore litres from grain-based feedstocks by August-end is a clear indicator of how significantly India’s ethanol feedstock basket has evolved. It represents nearly 70 per cent of the 895 crore litres supplied during the period, showing that grain-based ethanol has moved from being a supplementary source to becoming a major pillar of India’s ethanol programme, said the association DDG.
This reflects how the industry has expanded beyond its traditional dependence on sugar-based feedstocks. “For the industry, this diversification is extremely valuable. Grain-based ethanol has become an important pillar alongside sugarcane juice, B Heavy Molasses and C Heavy molasses,” she said.
The next phase of ethanol production will increasingly be about creating additional avenues for utilisation. Flex-fuel vehicles can provide a major mobility-linked demand avenue by allowing higher ethanol blends, while CBG (compressed biogas), SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) and other emerging applications can contribute to broader bioenergy demand, said Balaji.
Capacity utilisation
“The key requirement will be to develop demand alongside production capacity. A predictable policy environment, greater end-use adoption and continued investment in supporting infrastructure can help ensure that the capacity created by the industry is utilised efficiently,” she said.
On the role of flex-fuel vehicles, CBG, SAF and other applications in creating additional avenues for ethanol utilisation, the AIDA DDG said they can play an important role in taking India’s ethanol ecosystem into its next phase.
“The reported move towards vehicles capable of operating on 100 per cent ethanol is another significant development because it demonstrates the potential for ethanol to move beyond conventional blending applications,” she said.
At the same time, scaling such technologies will require corresponding attention to fuel availability, retail infrastructure, vehicle adoption and standards.
Larger opportunity
For AIDA, the larger opportunity is to develop an integrated ecosystem in which mobility, CBG, SAF and other applications complement the existing blending programme and create multiple avenues for efficient ethanol utilisation, she said.
The next stage of India’s ethanol journey will require feedstock availability, production capacity and end-use demand to evolve together. The priority now should be to maintain a healthy alignment of these.
“This means encouraging productivity and diversification across agricultural feedstocks, ensuring that existing distillery capacity is efficiently utilised, and simultaneously developing new end-use applications,” said Balaji.
To Read more about Ethanol Industry & Bio Energy News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : The Hindu Businessline
