By Rajrandra Jadhav
Mumbai (Reuters) -Dya distributes record volumes of rice for the production of ethanol, as it fights unprecedented stocks that are likely to swell further with the arrival of the new season of the season, turning from a more shortage that led to the export.
Turning more rice to ethanol helps to reduce rice reserves into the largest producer and exporter of the grain in the world and maintain an ambitious ethanol mix in India, despite the decline in the deliveries of traditional raw resource cane.
In March, India removed the last of about two years restrictions on the export of rice, which were encouraged by bad rains, which limited production. This year, ordinary monsoon rains are ready to provide an abundant harvest.
“Our main priority is to make sure we have enough food,” a senior civil servant told Reuters, refusing to name it, since he is not authorized to speak with the media.
“But since we have a lot more rice than we actually need it, we decided to use some of it to produce ethanol,” the employee said.
The State Food Corporation of India (FCI) has allocated a record 5.2 million tonnes of rice for ethanol, equivalent to nearly 9% of the world’s rice supplies in the marketing year 2024/25, ending in June. In the previous year, less than 3000 tonnes of FCI rice entered ethanol.
FCI buys almost half of the rice harvest in India and currently has reserves, including unique pads, with a record 59.5 million metric tonnes on June 1, which far exceeds the government’s target of 13.5 million tonnes for July 1.
The presence of ethanol rice has taken pressure from corn prices, which has jumped to high in recent years, forcing a record import from India.
Grain -based distilleries use corn, rice and damaged nutrients as a raw material, switching between them depending on the price.
India, Petroleum Importer and Petroleum Consumer, aims to increase the mixing of ethanol in gasoline to 20% by 2025/26. Last month, it almost hit this goal, reaching 19.8% ethanol, thanks to abundant rice.
The aim of 20% seemed to be out of range, when sugar cane supplies, representing 80% of the ethanol raw material until three years ago, collapsed due to the land in 2023, forcing the world’s most large sweetener consumer to reduce the deviation of ethanol sugar.
Last year, India gasoline included 14.6% ethanol.
Abundance
Even more rice will be used for ethanol if the government either lowers the prices of rice or increases the price of ethanol purchase, said Arushi Jain, a joint secretary at the Grahbodnol Producers Association.