India has ordered state-owned fuel retailers to stop procuring ethanol made from sugar and key sugarcane-based feedstocks in move that may help keep a lid on prices of the sweetener. This is to take effect in India's new supply year starting Nov. 1, after dry summer weather hit sugarcane production, leading to a global spike in prices.
State-owned refiners Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp., Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. issued a joint tender seeking nearly 11 billion liters of ethanol for the new supply year, citing the new government directions.
“No offers have been sought for Ethanol produced from sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup and B-Heavy molasses in this quantity bid tender,” according to the tender document issued Friday.
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India, the world's second-biggest sugar producer, faces a smaller crop than a year earlier after a powerful El Niño contributed to the weakest monsoon in more than a decade, tightening availability of the sweetener.
India has increasingly used sugarcane and grains to produce ethanol as part of efforts to curb its dependence on imported oil while providing an additional source of income for farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government brought forward its target of blending 20% ethanol into gasoline by five years and achieved the goal in 2025.
Suppliers participating in the latest tender can offer ethanol produced from C-heavy molasses, damaged food grains, surplus rice procured from the Food Corp. of India, corn and other feedstocks permitted under the National Policy on Biofuels.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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